39 Degrees by Live at LICA

Fine Art Degree Show 2 0

Lancaster University

All Proceeds of the Catalogue go to Cancer Research UK

The students and staff of the LICA Fine Art Degree Scheme would like to dedicate the 2011 Graduation Exhibition to the Memory of Professor Nigel Whiteley who passed away this year.

Nigel arrived at Lancaster in 1979 and, in his 31 years here, was at his most creative and productive. Nigel wrote hundreds of essays, articles, academic papers and several important books. He taught many thousands of students and was a good friend and careful mentor to many. Nigel designed the degree scheme, which remains one of the most innovative in the UK. His vision for Art Education was to form a better understanding between art history and theory and the practice of making art, and this, encapsulated as the informed practitioner, has become the ethos of the new Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Art.

Nigel helped to form a generation of artists, teachers and scholars; his ideas and values continue to inform the work of both students and colleagues at Lancaster and beyond. He will be long mourned and fondly remembered.

39o Lancaster University Fine Art Degree Show 2011 39 DEGREES will be showcasing the Ă&#x2026;VIT XZWL]K\[ WN \PZMM aMIZ[ KZMI\Q^M [\]La NZWU ! KWV\MUXWZIZa Ă&#x2026;VM IZ\ students. Lancaster Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art department is now ranked number one in the North of England, and _M NMMT \PQ[ ZMĂ&#x2020;MK\[ \PM OZW_QVO reputation of the North as a hub of creativity. The campus is surrounded by natural beauty and is situated away from the buzz of larger cities, which PI[ PIL I [\ZWVO QVĂ&#x2020;]MVKM WV I number of the artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; works, who use a diverse range of art forms, from painting, to installation, to digital media.

This degree show acts as the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; platform to launch their careers in the creative industries, and riding on the back of the art departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent success in the national league tables, this degree show looks to be one of the most exciting yet.

Sponsored by North West Mediation Solutions and Barefoot Wine. Also supported by donations from Lancaster University Friends Programme.

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P R O G

Supported by donations from alumni and friends of the University through the Lancaster University Friends Programme, 39Degrees will be going on tour to London.

Foreword

It is often said that Art has its own peculiar form of language. We talk of a visual vocabulary, of grammar and syntax. In her essay ‘Imagination and Reality’, the writer Jeannette Winterson describes the artist as translator:

“The artist is a translator; one who has learnt to pass into her own language the languages gathered from stones, from birds, from dreams from the body, from the material world, from the invisible world, from sex, from death, from love”. This assimilation of references from the world around them is present in much of the work exhibited by the class of 2011. Here are works which quote from outside their immediate subject area of Art: languages from medicine, surveillance, the everyday social, manmade and natural world as well as those private languages of the personal and idiosyncratic. These artists have not only developed their own means of expression but come to understand the visual languages of others; not only to cite from historical examples but to place themselves in dialogue with contemporary practice and JM KWV^MZ[IV\ _Q\P \PM KWV\M`\ NZWU _PQKP KWV\MUXWZIZa LMJI\M[ PI^M MUMZOML <PQ[ Q[ IV IXXZWIKP _PQKP ZMÆMK\[ the distinctive character of the Lancaster degree with its emphasis and ethos of the informed practitioner. The class of 2011 have named their show 39 Degrees. 39 individuals each with their own distinctive voices and things to say. 39 Degrees...So to go back to this theme of language, its nuances and multiple interpretations, let’s consider what this word ‘degree’ might mean for these graduates:A point of distinction, of difference, of separation: each student has developed their own independent trajectory, their visual language and means of creative expression. An incline: it has for all been a slope, a learning curve, as they have challenged themselves. A step forward: <PM ÅZ[\ [\MX QV I [MZQM[ WN W\PMZ[ I[ \PMa JMOQV \PMQZ KIZMMZ[ I[ OZIL]I\M[ )V I_IZL WZ UIZS WN achievement: the works here attest to the achievements of these 39 young artists. Congratulations to you all and best of luck in your next steps forward.

Sarah Casey Lecturer in Sculpture and Installation.

Emma Bagnall My art practice focuses on the growth of cells and the exploration of cellular information. Through my work I aim to make the invisible visible by producing cellular forms on various transparent materials. I let chance dictate the outcome; thus simulating the random growth which is typical of cells. These materials are displayed in a multilayered frame made of Perspex, the result of this separation between layers means that there is an alternative view from different angles, encouraging the viewer to move around the piece. This method of displaying work is adopted \W QUQ\I\M \PM [\]La WN [KQMV\QĂ&#x2026;K specimens and organisms in Petridishes; the viewer is able to look up close and analyse the work as they would in a laboratory. My intention is to make the audience aware of the organic processes taking place continually, and although these complex processes are not visible to the naked eye, they are integral to our survival.

ekbagnall@hotmail.com

I focus on offering new perspectives on everyday objects for the spectator to discover on their own terms. Familiar items are my material, repeated to emphasise their ready availability and how oblivious we are to their sheer quantity around us. The repetition also provides a new context for my materials, particularly focusing on the inherent beauty of these run-ofthe mill items. My materials are a central concern, taking me on journey \PI\ OZW_[ QV\W ÅVQ[PML _WZS[ 1 [M\ myself a series of rules, which guide experiments and determine outcomes. This disciplined approach ultimately shapes the means of stacking the items into simple yet captivating forms, showing their innate properties so each component remains at the foreground of the viewer’s and my own attention, revealing their new possibilities. 5a XZIK\QKM Q[ PMI^QTa QVÆ]MVKML by Minimalism’s focus on repeated units, materials, forms and using the intrinsic properties to generate sculptures. However, I feel my practice reacts against the high-powered notions of Minimalist art that dominates the viewer’s perceptions of a piece. I welcome all thoughts brought by the spectator as an integral part of my work to take it into contemporary sculpture.

emma@ptarmigan.co.uk

Emma Bates

My practice makes use of everyday analogies and objects to enable the viewer to relate to the work on a XMZ[WVIT TM^MT# \PM ÅVIT NWZU[ M^WT^M from the innate properties and structures of the material itself. My work focuses on the disconnection of the individual within contemporary society. It is based around the idea that we are all different expressions of the same Being, therefore spiritually connected, but also to some extent oblivious to this connection. My ideas are largely QVÆ]MVKML Ja 5a[\QKQ[U ZM[]T\QVO QV quiet, meditative installations, which aim to engage with the viewer. My current work makes use of associations relating to the sleeping ÅO]ZM *ML [PMM\[ IVL ZMNMZMVKM[ to worship, are combined with the element of light to create an experience that questions the disconnection from the spiritual. This suggests we are perhaps unconscious, or in different states of unconsciousness. The installations aim to provide an intimate viewing experience so that the concepts within the work have a depth of meaning that becomes personal, making the viewer a key player within my work

kellymb@live.co.uk

Kelly Bieliauskas

Hazel Blake

“The urge to represent is very deep within us…and this urge is there because each individual person knows that he or she has a unique sort of experience”- David Hockney In our everyday lives, we come face to face with people. People, and our relationships with them, play a [QOVQÅKIV\ XIZ\ QV LM\MZUQVQVO W]Z own identity, shaping our opinions and affecting the way we feel. As someone who is extremely sensitive to my relationships with XMWXTM 1 ÅVL \PI\ \PM WJ[MZ^I\QWV WN everyday photographs – snapshots of my personal life from childhood until today–evokes in me a range of thoughts and emotions related to particular times, places and people. Focussing on my family and upbringing, I want to mediate and materialise these feelings through my art. By using painting as a form of self-expression and exploration, I am able to communicate a piece of my identity, via the people who I feel have played a part in the shaping of it.

hazelblake39@gmail.com

I value art as a way of translating feeling that is deep-rooted in my subconscious, inviting people to explore what’s in my head, whilst also triggering their own memories via familiar forms.

Anna-Victoria Cartwright Through the disciplines of drawing and painting, my work investigates themes of change, loss and memory. Each work aims to be visually elusive, with forms that change; focus and dissolve, resemble, and yet remain symbolic, without direct representation. The lack of clarity provides both visual and metaphorical content. Taking visual inspiration from smoke, mist and cloud patterns, presents ambiguous and amorphous activity, and this allows me to create a tension through opposites such as light and dark, hope and despair, tranquillity and unease. Through the secrecy and threat of darkness, I hope there to emerge a fold of light, WNNMZQVO INĂ&#x2026;ZUI\QWV[ WN JMI]\a IVL hope. These relationships allow for suggestions of fragility and delicacy, whilst also evoking intensity and strength.

anna-Âcartwright@hotmail.co.uk

Through the process of layering oil paint and graphite, emerges a veil of self-protection, cloaking content, and encouraging quiet dialogue. The restricted colour palette and selective use of line and intricate mark-making, extends the dialogue between aesthetics, content and form.

Today we live in this ‘Happily Ever After’ bubble of false hope to the point that no one dares even speak of death, we instead ‘laugh in the face of it’ – especially the young who are supposed to have so much still to live for. I have always been fascinated by the extraordinary relationship a photograph has with time, the past and death. Every photograph we take is a captured image of history, portraying realities as we have known them and sometimes remember them. I use photography and digital media within my artwork because I want to preserve a strong relationship with the past in my artwork. What would happen if fairytales, idealistic fables of ‘Happily Ever After’, were altered to represent the world as we know it, and include the loss we experience in photography.

claire_caskie272@hotmail.co.uk

Claire Caskie

My practice explores the relationship and tension between urbanity and mankind - the enclosure of architecture. Space is considered an expanse that is free but architecture and urbanity restricts this free [XIKM <PQ[ Q[ ZMĂ&#x2020;MK\ML Ja MVOIOQVO with the existing architectural wall through the indentation and trace of hollow, bodily, organic-like forms. This hollow space is contained as the walls and industrial skeleton-like materials take over and shrink this space. The concaveness of the hollow space physically draw the viewers in, bringing in this sense of encasement in relation to the forms.

pcheung0104@gmail.com

Pul-ling Cheung

Natalie Cornall I create delicate paintings reliant on both chance and manipulation which aim to entice the viewer to examine the works closer and for longer. I hope, when encountered NWZ \PM Ă&#x2026;Z[\ \QUM aW] NMMT IV overwhelming sense of beauty and calm that demands a deeper level of exploration; a kind of slow viewing. I pour washes of coloured oil paint to create forms that reference the body. Once these are dry I pick out and exploit marks, textures and areas, using graphite dust and pencil, which echo- but do not depict- limbs, bones and organs. These subtle suggestions of bodily forms create a site or imaginative location for the work whilst remaining free from concrete subject matter. The ambiguity in the works may provoke questions of wholeness and fragmentation or beauty and deformity; yet my work simply requires the engagement of a viewer keen to absorb the delights of pools and veils of colour and the intricacies of traceries and textures.

nataliecornall@hotmail.co.uk

Rozalind Cotton The Natural World is beautiful, strange and interesting. Landscapes we see everyday are often maintained and organic growth patterns are repressed. However the universe is neither trim nor contained. By using fractal patterns found throughout many forms in nature, I have enhanced the already awe-inspiring elements of untamed Ă&#x2020;WZI *a QVKWZXWZI\QVO NZIK\IT properties of self similarity across varying scales, the landscape created is untamed and the organic patterns appear to grow over the canvas. The large scale almost overwhelms the viewer, giving them a sensory experience which captures the true beauty of nature. Intricate detailing and seductive paint quality help to further this feeling of awe, capturing something aesthetically pleasing yet interesting. My pieces are mysterious and otherworldly, but remain based in reality. Nature is far more fantastical than anything we could create with our imagination.

rozalind.cotton@gmail.com

Just as we look into the night sky and contemplate our position within the starry constellations, I want the ^QM_MZ \W ÅVL \PMQZ W_V XTIKM _Q\PQV my work. Post-code data is familiar to all and encountered on a day to day basis. I create resin casts containing the abstract patterns formed through G.I.S. mapping of post-codes. Plotting vast quantities of postcodes renders visible entire galaxies of information, each resembling biological cultures, distant galaxies and maps of unknown worlds. Through the tactility of the resin casts, viewers should connect with the usually cold computer data and ZMÆMK\ WV \PM [QbM WN \PM ]VQ^MZ[M and our place within it.

h-cox@hotmail.co.uk

Hayley Cox

“The future is now.” – Nam June Paik My work explores ways that we can exist through different realities other than the physical one we are in. In contemporary society we are increasingly surrounded by an overload of information; thousands of television channels, the Internet, social networking etc. which can be accessed at any time and anywhere. 1V Ua ÅTU[ IVL XMZNWZUIVKM[ 1 do not wish to merely transport my characters from one reality to another as some form of escapism from an alienated existence, but to confuse and overlap the different realities, blurring any dividing lines. Constantly transferring between these different realities and the physical means they have become a part of who we are and a part of our existence. The necessity to embrace new technologies in our fast paced society and the methods and processes I use in creating my work reference Nam June Paik’s vision of a future in which people would connect and interact through what he termed, the “Electronic Super Highway”.

saoirsecrean@gmail.com www.facebook.com/SaoirseCreanArtist

Saoirse Crean

Rachel Daniel

My work investigates the body’s interior as seen through medical data such as X-rays, CT and MRI scans. My practice exists within the legacy of both anatomy art and medical illustrations but is brought into the digital age through a dependence on mechanically derived images of the body. Through highly detailed graphite work, I attempt to rebuild a body image out of fragments of medical data which I reconstruct in an excessive and WZVIUMV\ML LZI_QVO [\aTM ZMÆMK\QVO my interest in the theatrical side of anatomy. My drawings also play with traditions of the grotesque in the fact that they are awkwardly put \WOM\PMZ LZIUI\QK ÅO]ZM[ _PQKP are both absorbing and slightly disturbing to behold. Within my work I try to balance the spectacle and visual allure of medical scans with how incomprehensible they are to the general public, focusing on the dichotomy of technophobia and technophilia which medical technologies instil. My work presents the viewer with an opportunity to reassess their body image within the KWVÅVM[ WN \PM LQOQ\IT IOM racheldaniel_17@yahoo.co.uk

Isobel Davies

I am looking to explore themes of domesticity, violence and sexuality as experienced in women’s lives. I also want to look at the contrast between the different manifestations of female oppression; only a few decades ago women were duty bound to the home, to their familial responsibilities, which is represented in my use of embroidery as a medium. In the present day, women have become objects of lust and provocation; pornography and ‘glamour’ photography have become more prevalent than ever before, under the guise of female ‘empowerment’. While there is an external glossy appearance to the sex industry, there is also a grim underside, which involves \ZINÅKSQVO IJ][M IVL ^QWTMVKM Using embroidery as a physical metaphor for domesticity and submission, my work is an attempt to explore our attitudes and perceptions towards women. It is my aim to deceive and confuse the viewer, luring them into a false sense of security before unnerving or unsettling them with suggestive imagery and implied violence. isobeldavies@live.co.uk

Inspired by the darkness and whimsy of fairytales, my work aims to tell a story. Through the use of found objects and materials which have already ‘lived’ their life, I take these abandoned and no longer loved things and remake them into a piece they can ‘live’ through again. Assemblage, found taxidermy, and stitch are also an ongoing feature in my work, juxtaposing handmade elements with manmade and natural found objects to forge a narrative. I want the connotations of the materials and objects I use to help tell the story. Relating to the associations with childhood- the \QUM _PMV _M ÅZ[\ PMIZL \PM[M tales, I love the idea of ‘making’ and ‘playing’ with materials. My pieces include homely, tactile elements to lull the viewer into the cosy fairytale exterior, juxtaposed with the sometimes macabre details and ideas behind the piece. Recently I have been focusing on telling the stories of the characters implicit in tales, whose story is usually sidelined and overlooked. I want the viewer to make up their own narrative from the piece and be taken back to their own memories of childhood and the fables that inspired them, perhaps for them to see these fairytales in a different way.

bethanyarwenevans@googlemail.com

Bethany Arwen Evans

My art is about the changing role of the cultural landscape and its political connotations. I use the pine tree as a motif because of its use in forestry. Pines are also formed into avenues to direct us. Yet the experience of a pine forest is overwhelming. I see drawing as a performance. The movement of the entire arm is evident. Working with charcoal on a cane and chalk ball on a sling shows this. I leave erasures, palimpsests and cartoons of earlier workings to suggest the changing scene. Drawing at height tests balance, dexterity and endurance. The UWV]UMV\IT [KITM Q[ [QOVQÅKIV\ <PM surface, almost three metres high and four metres wide, allows the viewer to step back or inspect closely. The subject matter of a work can be changed at whim or necessity to show images of concern. The LZI]OP\[UIV KIV VW_ ÅVL QUIOM[ through online search engines. Country byways are now mapped through photographs. Places are ZMLMÅVML Ja \PM UMLQI IVL TWOOML QV image banks.

rbtfroud@gmail.com

Robert Froud

Rose Gavriluk

Within my work I aim to explore the issues of climate change and the impact it will have upon the planet. My work looks at the problem of water displacement, from the melting ice caps through to the rising sea levels and also issues of decay over time. The sculptural and installation works that I am producing will visualise this connection between the consequences of the melting ice and the rising sea levels in a way that retains an aesthetic quality and ZMUIQV[ ÅZUTa _Q\PQV \PM ZMITU[ WN ÅVM IZ\ My choice of materials is intended to support my aim of visualising a complex aspect of the environment in a clear uncluttered way; I feel that the separate processes that each UI\MZQIT XMZNWZU[ ZMÆMK\[ ]XWV \PM notion of cause and effect. My work’s aim is not to pressurize the viewer or alienate them through [KQMV\QÅK LI\I 1 _Q[P \W ZMNZIQV NZWU entering the realms of political or activist artworks, but to encourage thoughtful engagement that prompts further investigation. By only rgav7@hotmail.com

displaying the possibilities, the work becomes open to the viewers own emotional response.

Robin Goodings Touch the person stood next to you, let go and try to remember that contact. Consider every aspect of the interaction between you. That contact has ceased, left as a memory, a purely cognitive record. The subtlety and intimacy of the sense of touch is underappreciated, lost and forgotten too quickly, UISQVO P]UIV KWV\IK\ I Ă&#x2020;MM\QVO and momentary sentiment. Touch brings life to the skin; a world without it would be numb, lacking passion and intimacy. This work gives a palpable reminder of the sense we forget to pay homage to. Serving as a lasting testament, the pieces pay tribute to the sensation of touch, striving to be a memorial, a lasting, corporeal record. Archival systems are adapted to give a feel of historical value, with connotations of museums and artefact, suggestive of memory and its storage systems. ;KQMV\QĂ&#x2026;K IVL IVITa\QKIT XMZ[XMK\Q^M[ are used to form objects of memorandum. Reminiscing and recreating traces of contact, the work seems to fossilise moments of intimacy and familiarity, remaining as immutable nostalgia.

robin.goodings@gmail.com

My work is suggestive of a postapocalyptic world after humanity. Plants have started to take back what was once theirs, the land mankind has built upon has now been ZMKTIQUML _Q\P VI\]ZM ÅVLQVO Q\[ way into unwanted places. Control is an important aspect of a person’s life, but my work questions what happens when nature can no longer be controlled as a person’s daily routine is disrupted by nature reclaiming their habitat. 0]UIV[ IZM PIXXa \W JZQVO ÆWZIT print and house plants into their homes, however it becomes an issue when nature breaks in and spreads throughout mankind’s territory. My work depicts this idea by incorporating controlled patterns with various different plant species. Nature will always prevail, we can never truly control it. Nature has been on earth long before mankind and is likely to be present for a long time after we have gone. The cycle of humanity and nature is unending; humans will take over a space and abandon it when they are done, at which point nature will reclaim the space and adorn it with its own image.

VBVBJULI¿WKV#PVQ FRP

;IZIP /ZQNÅ\P[

My practice imitates conditions and techniques of 17th Century renaissance still life with a contemporary subject. Being in the painting style of Sfumato keeps an historical feel to my paintings whilst maintaining a conceptual element thus bringing them into the modern age. I deliberately rearrange the composition of individual objects eluding direct representation of forms, instead playing on recognisable features of those objects, juxtaposed by their intertwined placement on the canvas so creating impossible structures. This results in a confusion between form and content. I am interested in relationships between the artist and viewer, and exploit this by utilising the scale and display forms (i.e. frame design) of history painting, subverting the viewerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of the painting, which is radically transformed on their closer inspection of the noxious depth, dark undertones and looming structures. It is not my intention to delude or deceive but to create barriers which are managed and deconstructed, slowly giving way to the realisation of the true nature and identity of my work.

faye_lily_haswell@yahoo.com

Faye Haswell

Cheree Hulley

Drawing is fundamental to my thinking, engaging and creatively IZ\QK]TI\QVO Ua [QOVQÅKIV\ XI[[QWV for art and nature. In its rawest essence drawing is not merely pencil on paper, it can manifest in many formats through any viable medium or surface, whether this is through means of 2D or 3D form. I aim to push the limits of drawing and our preconceptions concerning it. Therefore, by trying to capture the intense aesthetic variety in both nature and art, I use a mixture of drawing materials and surfaces. 0I^QVO KITU Æ]QL TQVM[ KWUJQVML with expressive chaotic drawings also demonstrates the wide diversity of aesthetic, shape and change within the landscape. By trying to explore these complex qualities, line, composition and form play considerable components within my art. My artistic aim is to express the fascinating beauty and variety of \PM TIVL[KIXM IVL PW_ QVÆ]MV\QIT Q\ can be on our everyday lives, even if we do not acknowledge it; therefore rekindling our engagement both physically and emotionally with the organic environment as well as art. cyhulley@hotmail.co.uk

Hannah Humphreys My abstract paintings are inspired by a personal, automatic narrative which becomes descriptive, yet allusive. This narrative is used as part of the process in making the work; I listen to the recorded narrative whilst painting intuitively. Through this process the paintings allow for an exploration of my subconscious mind. It is not my aim to reveal my subconscious mind nor to direct meaning, but to transport the viewer imaginatively in to a unique visual world; escaping from reality, crossing the boundaries from the outer to inner world. Within my paintings I use an array WN UI\MZQIT[ KPQMÆa IKZaTQK XIQV\ XIZINÅV _I` OTI[[ _I` IVL [XZIa paint. These materials used in combination create a tactile, complex []ZNIKM IVL IM[\PM\QK _PQKP ZMÆMK\ the uncertainty of the narratives and the subconscious process. It is important to me that the viewer’s imagination is activated;

hcreativearts@hotmail.co.uk

where my imagery and their individual thoughts bring new meanings to the work, each unique.

I aim to turn drawing on its head by transporting it into a 3D realm. My drawings take over unusual forms and spiral around unconventional shapes as they depict enigmatic patterns that cover delicate handmade paper surfaces. The drawings convey the elusive, the unseen and the invisible as I have extracted four key shapes from biological imagery. These shapes WKK]Z ZMXMI\MLTa KZMI\QVO IV QVĂ&#x2026;VQ\M IUW]V\ WN Ă&#x2020;M`QJTM LM[QOV[ \PI\ IK\ as symbols to record the drawing process. Each unit, or drawing, is recorded systematically in minutes which are added together to give the total time taken on each piece. This highlights the process undertaken and its time consuming nature. These systems are then encapsulated in handmade paper forms creating physical units of time. The handmade materiality of the paper transforms these units in to fragile beings, just like time. Although I can never create anything as fragile, fragility is still present within my work. Time is perhaps the most precious part of life and what I offer to the audience is an attempt to capture it.

hannahemilyjones27@gmail.com

Hannah Jones

The civilized man stagnates in his consideration of the consequences. 0M NM[\MZ[ QV \PM NM\QL IQZ \PI\ ÅTT[ the gap left by his long mistrusted spontaneity, and he dies, earnestly _Q[PQVO \PI\ PM PIL TQ^ML [MTÅ[PTa enough to know himself. In my work I attempt to discuss this restriction inspired by courtesy and sensibilities. I do this by working spontaneously inside given parameters, whilst documenting the intuitive creation of the work, ZM[]T\QVO QV I [MZQM[ WN [PWZ\ ÅTU[ animating self-motivated instincts. <PM QUIOM[ KZMI\ML QV \PM ÅTU[ IZM not the product of forward planning; each fresh mark is as much of a revelation to myself as the artist, as it is to the virgin spectator. The work illuminates how little I know myself, whilst capturing the process of drawing, showing the rarely depicted middle game. The spontaneity of the ink illustrations is mimicked in an accompanying audio illustration. The work suggests that we should embrace our spontaneous side, indulge our self-centredness on occasion, enjoy the journey and accept not knowing the whys and consequences. You can still create without them.

obanjones@hotmail.co.uk

Oban Jones

Katherine Kennedy The meaning of the word â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; extends beyond simply a place of residence â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it implies security, a sense of belonging and shared culture. When removed from that place of comfort, it is natural to cling to the familiar and cultural practices take on a crucial role in foreign surroundings. My work is an expression of the displacement felt when I left Barbados to come to the UK. I use domestic objects, which relate to the idea of home, but combine them to create forms reminiscent of West Indian Carnival costumes. This imagery is symbolic of my culture, as Carnival is the epitome of exuberance often associated with the Caribbean. However, the installations contradict themselves; the aesthetic is cold and grim, there is an absence of colour and brightness and the shadows cast are as much part of the work as the objects themselves. The resulting emptiness from something which should be so vibrant distances the festival from its context, just as I have been distanced from mine. By sharing this echo of my country I wish to communicate loss and longing, as well as to assert my own

kathkennedy@gmail.com

identity, in a way creating a new cultural dynamic.

Em Kewley

My drawings make use of a range of images derived from sensual experience across a wide historical span, including Baroque intertwinings, Victorian whimsy and contemporary images of sex. The resulting cocktail of violence, love and sentimentality is blurred, re-presented and articulated with visual similes of ribbons and folds. Representations of cunts, knobs, tits and cocks (which thrust inside WN \QOP\ U][K]TIZ WZQĂ&#x2026;KM[ JMKWUM tangled and trapped, whilst also revealing and forming delicate ribbon clad nymphs. The drawings present ambiguous ZMTI\QWV[PQX[ JM\_MMV KWVĂ&#x2020;QK\QVO themes and values. They seek to play joyfully with an unlimited access of images, within various media formats. Also aiming to challenge the plurality of consumption of these images, and crystallizing them into the precious format of lace.

em.kewley@gmail.com Â

The subject of lace and embroidery is key to the idea of the elaborate and seductively detailed images. Whilst acknowledging and subverting ornamental crafts throughout interplay of subject and content, the work explores the intricacy and complexity of the ornate object.

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Through sculpture, installation IVL ÅTU 1 [MMS \W ÅVL M`XZM[[QWV for the social and political issues \PI\ KWVKMZV UM 1 IU QVÆ]MVKML by the range of representations of immigrants that appear in the media and the way that this shapes our collective imagination. This interest in the plight of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers originates from a curiosity about the local area, which led me to the Morecambe bay cockle picking disaster. The confusion, disorientation and trauma associated with the journeys of migrants is a reoccurring theme in my work and this is explored using the symbology of the sea; a physical barrier which the migrant must cross to reach ‘the promised land’ and a representation of movement, change, longing and discontent. Both forms and materials are used in a highly symbolic way, for instance the safety implied by the form of a shelter is contrasted against the vulnerability of an open material like a net. My practice often focuses on repetitive processes which blur the boundaries between art and other labour processes and comment on the links between labour and migration.

abikilbride@yahoo.com

Abigail KilBride

According to the bible, true believers will be snatched up to heaven prior to the battle of Armageddon. Many other belief systems and cultures also have their own â&#x20AC;&#x153;end of the worldâ&#x20AC;? myths. Modern day fears such as climate change, nuclear war and natural disasters leading to the demise of the earth, however, are actual possibilities. Gallows humour is one way to respond to terrible events either actual or impending. My aim is to mix humour and horror, comedy and repugnance by depicting 102 ways the world might end. The composition of ambiguous scenarios involving a cast of real (but dead) mice and rat characters are photographed to form an archive collection. Rodents are routinely tortured and killed for medical research. People tend to ignore uncomfortable truths and possibilities. The juxtaposition of the mythical and fantastical with the plausible and possible is intended to intensify the sense of foreboding. How will the world end? Nobody knows for sure, but it will end. You have been warned.

r.laycock@lancs.ac.uk

Rhiannon Laycock

Caroline Maclennan 1\ Q[ PIZL \W ÅVL I TWKI\QWV _PMZM we aren’t being followed or monitored by CCTV. However, few of us are aware of this constant and oppressive surveillance. Eyeballcctvincorporated creates an awareness of surveillance on Lancaster University campus through the use of video, CCTV cameras, televisions and the active presence of company members. We promote strict rules and guidelines in order to create a more harmonious student body. Those who are seen breaking these guidelines will be dealt with. Our company members force the public to interact and engage with CCTV; an action which is rarely practiced. Our merchandise promotes our ‘Big Brother’ like presence and when distributed secures the oppressive hold we have over Lancaster University campus. Modelled on George Orwell’s ‘1984’, our omnipotent product line enlightens students to their own actions and how their behaviour can become a performance when televised.

carolinemaclennan@hotmail.co.uk

Alexandra Monk My paintings aim to synthesize the celebration of the female form, beautiful and luscious, fragile but strong. Showing a more delicate and personal representation of women, I want the viewer to consider alternative ways of viewing the female nude, opposing the mainstream, sexualised image which seems to dominate precepts and interpretations. My paintings aim not to be erotic, but sensual. In order to achieve this I have used smooth brush strokes with sensitivity to form and colour. The large scale of my paintings could be seen to convey a sense of power, taking away any notion of woman being seen as weak. These paintings are of me, due to this I could be accused of narcissism; however I want this to be seen as a positive narcissism. I am comfortable in my own skin,and I want this to be empowering for other women. I am not looking at attacking the male gaze as it is implicit in our society, after all, it no longer seems

alexandra.monk89@gmail.com

to be a male gaze, but a cultural one that is particular to our time now.

My work explores the sculptural qualities of paint, blurring the line between surface and support. My focus is on extending the potential of paint as a three-dimensional medium, utilising the unique qualities of these materials to test the traditional boundaries of how a painting is perceived. I want to bring to light how we take for granted some of the material qualities of paint and the scope of what it can create. I am interested in the boundaries between the wetness of paint and the solidness of the sculpture and I aim to evoke this within my pieces. This work enters dialogue with histories and traditions within painting, from historical depictions of drapery in paintings to modernist inquiry into \PM ÆW_QVO Y]ITQ\a WN XIQV\ Q\[MTN 1\ Q[ QUXWZ\IV\ \W KIX\]ZM \PM Æ]QLQ\a of paint in each piece as, for me, it is the key characteristic of paint and perhaps the most enchanting. )[ \PM XIQV\ ÆW_[ QV\W I ZQXXTQVO position and sets, the viewer is KIX\Q^I\ML Ja \PM NZMM ÆW_QVO NWZU[ created and is compelled to reach out and touch the paint. This material curiosity is what I hope to evoke in each viewer as the paint is given freedom to spill into space.

thomas.montgomery5@gmail.com

Thomas Montgomery

Some of the more interesting aspects of people’s lives are the physical reminders of their lives. The story of someone’s life does not need to be written down or documented carefully; looking at their physical person can tell an artist more about the individual than an entire book could. Even then it is not necessary to look at the obvious places on the body such as the face or the body as it ages. The ill conceived, harder to recognise parts of the body hold more of a challenge and a ‘life map’. These pieces are about looking at the way in which one can form a map about a person by using of the lines in the skin, plaster and a few intuitive leaps. Using a body cast and recreating the unlikely pieces of the human body, I engrave in the lines which life has impressed onto people’s skin and elaborate from there. The unlikely body pieces make the work small, intimate and personal.

coxenburgh@hotmail.com

Charlotte Oxenburgh

Jessica Roe

The overall aim of my work is to promote an emotional connection, via the painted image, between LMXQK\ML ÅO]ZM[ IVL \PM ^QM_MZ 5a work, which represents subjects _PW IZM XMZ[WVITTa [QOVQÅKIV\ \W UM aims to highlight and communicate their inner emotions in a subtle and sensitive, yet tangible way. I choose to work from photographs as they allow me to capture precise moments which I can then interpret and transform through the act of painting. The use of water-mixable oils and a subtle painting technique MVIJTM[ UM \W QUJ]M \PM ÅO]ZM _Q\P a greater emotional resonance. In my recent work the bed forms the setting for the subject, allowing me to draw on connotations of comfort, security and intimacy. This XZQ^I\M ^QM_ WN \PM ÅO]ZM []OOM[\[ I greater sense of vulnerability, which MVKW]ZIOM[ I XMZ[WVIT ZMÆMK\Q^M response.

jess.roe@hotmail.co.uk

In these works I have explored the close relationship between the textures of skin and fabric. These textures,and the careful application of paint, are suggestive of actual touch and thus imply a tender physical and emotional relationship _Q\P \PM ÅO]ZM

Adam Roddy

Cities are an essential part of our civilisation, they have been places of war, famine, renaissance, industry, culture and politics. By focusing on the city we can map our own existence. We can see the changes in technology, architecture, transport and people throughout PQ[\WZa IVL _M KIV ZMÆMK\ WV \PM very cities we live in today. By ÅTUQVO WZ XPW\WOZIXPQVO \PM KQ\a 1 try to capture all of this and I try to connect the viewer to the cities they live in and to the characteristics of them. By making installations and objects and portraying these as futuristic artefacts or museum pieces, I can show my videos and photographs as being something of the past, therefore highlighting the trans-historical nature of the city and highlighting that the city is something which is ever changing but constant.

a-Roddy@live.co.uk

“Memories rarely return intact, however strongly they persist. Retold their stories change, and there’s no way back from their embellishments” Peter Doig. My practice explores the notion of lost memories; the paintings examine my relationship to my childhood using the landscape as a vehicle to convey these memories. ?PMV 1 ZMÆMK\ WV Ua KPQTLPWWL 1 remember particular sensations; running through the sand dunes, the wind in my hair and the sand JM\_MMV Ua ÅVOMZ[ 1 [MMS \W M`XZM[[ these sensations. The paintings focus on the natural processes of the landscape; using materials and objects as metaphors for my memories, for example the pull and drift of the tide, the burying and re-emergence of debris. The erosive nature of the paint symbolizes the physical erosion of the coastline and the erosion of my memories fading as time passes. I experiment with the properties and processes of oil paints, creating atmospheric landscapes. I want the viewer to engage, respond IVL ZMÆMK\ WV \PMQZ W_V UMUWZQM[ I aim to pursue the sense of lost memories and nostalgia through colour and process.

victoriarogers89@gmail.com

Victoria Rogers

“Modern man no longer regards Nature as being in any sense divine and feels perfectly free to behave towards her as an overwhelming conqueror and tyrant.” - Aldous Huxley With the age of new technology and ever increasing populations, a consumer driven world, it is very easy to lose sight of what is important- Nature. My focus was to explore man’s relationship to nature through the views of our ancestors. Their mythologies tell of a close symbiotic relationship with life, animal or plant revered and respected. Today it feels as though the respect has vanished and through this loss of respect are we not harming ourselves? I have chosen in the work to focus on the symbiotic relationship to all life, through installed, multi-sensory environments, my hope is to return the viewer to nature, the very thing they rely on, were born from, are a part of. “When we speak of Nature it is wrong to forget that we are ourselves a part of Nature.” - Henri Matisse

amber_shorrock@hotmail.co.uk

Amber Shorrock

Alice Sunderland Close your eyes, what do you see? Fascinated by the erratic lines and balls of colour which appear when I close my eyes, these images have remained constant within my imagination; a false sense of nothingness twisted into a playground of uncontrollable energy. This projection portrays our inner, most personal and creative expression, relieving ourselves of existence and entering a battle between reality and imagination.

allysundo@gmail.com

Applied through pouring and precision-tipped squeeze bottles containing different viscosities of acrylic paint and ink on paper, time manipulates the movement of the paint where colours intertwine, imitating its rebellious and irrepressible impulses. I strive for Ă&#x2020;]QLQ\a IVL JMI]\a KWUXTMUMV\QVO the numerous textures and energetic effects of the paint. The hallucinogenic and unrestrained XZWXMZ\QM[ P]UW]Z \PM KWVĂ&#x2026;VMUMV\[ of traditional art, providing a visual excitement of overwhelming playfulness. I am captivated by its inability to be verbally explained, yet still it becomes so comprehensible when communicated through the form of art.

Natalie Todd

My practice explores the concept of cataloguing household items, in particular from my home. The works are comprised of photographs which document every single object that forms the visual landscape of my house. I ask the viewer to consider the separate items which make up their home space and interactions, memories and attachments with each object. By creating a mysterious visual, which isolates and engages with all pieces of furniture, paintings, trinkets etc., one is lead to question the importance and place of each thing. Ordering the items in a catalogued manner and presenting documented information reminds us that although everything in the PWUM PI[ XMZ[WVIT [QOVQĂ&#x2026;KIVKM QV many instances, the exact same item will be present in thousands of other homes. Exposing each object in this _Ia UMIV[ \PMa KIV JM ZMĂ&#x2020;MK\ML upon alone. This gives the viewer an opportunity to consider each item, its shape and position in their home, as well as the implications of the natalietodd89@googlemail.com

objects being individually removed.

My work explores the human abandonment of objects and spaces and the consequent onset of decay from disuse. Through an unconventional use of materials and spaces I intend to create my own representation of the process of decay, which provokes a strong physical and emotional reaction within the viewer. In order to do this I make use of familiar components such as furniture, household objects, cotton and human hair. These are materials which we have close physical contact with on a daily basis. Yet in my sculptures I remove these materials from their habitual contexts and manipulate them so that they become unnerving and disconcerting representations of decay. This selection of materials thus allows me to create subtle yet materially unexpected sculptures which intrigue and repulse the viewer simultaneously.

ema_3_9@hotmail.co.uk

Emma Ward

I fool the viewer by having complete control over the construction of the image. Everything you see is thought up and arranged by myself. Nothing you see is my reality. In the series of self-portraits, the viewer gains glimpses of my personality and emotions but the narratives I present are conjured and constructed. The work is my form of self-expression; a young female photographer exploring innocence, sensuality and stereotypes. I marry the use of digital photography and video by linking them thematically and aesthetically. Through the use of video, I am able to capture the viewers attention and engage their imagination more thoroughly. Encapsulating the self through the digital, the work aims to achieve aesthetic harmony and beauty while engaging the viewer with the worlds and narratives I create.

info@suzywimbourne.com

Suzy Wimbourne

Acknowledgements Thanks to all who helped us make 39 Degrees such a success

Sarah Casey

Peter Scott Gallery

Jane Rushton

Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts

Gerry Davies

Lancaster University Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Union

Emile Devereaux Bill Gamble Jamie Woodrige Richard Smith Viv Parr-Burman Ian Heywood

To the Generous Donations of Peter Whitman from North West Mediation Solutions and Barefoot Wine, without whom the Degree Show may not have been such a success.

LUSU Involve Individual Photos by Suzy Wimbourne Daniel Smith Joseph Bourne for his support in running the Involve Day Declan Parkison for his DJ skills at our fundraiser.

To the Lancaster University Friends Programme who gave us the funds to take the Degree Show to London. Humbugâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sweet Shop J.Atkinsons And Co

County Diner

Ink N Toner Solutions Ltd

Charlie Gere

The Lounge

Matthew Paul Hairdressers

Jane Hoctor

The Engineering Department

Waterhouse Health N Brew Joseph Menswear

LUTV Janan Yakula Steven Jackson Lisa Hinchey

Slinky Fit Viva Interiors Unbox Cornish Bakery Arteria

R T E

U N I V

Juicafe

Y I T

L A N

F R

I N

P R O G

Hair FM

Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) The LICA Building, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK lica@lancaster.ac.uk

Published by Lancaster University, Class of 2011, Fine Art (BA Hons).