BAMS Student Medal Project Catalogue 2021 by MarcyLeavittBourne

BAMS STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021 Contemporary Art Medals

GRAND FIRST PRIZE

KIKI BIRTLES Inherited (obverse) Falmouth University. Winner of the Grand First Prize awarded annually by the Worshipful Company of Founders. See page 37. 2

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

GRAND SECOND PRIZE

CARLY WILSON I need company, I need human heat (obverse) City of Glasgow College. Winner of the Grand Second Prize awarded annually by Thomas Fattorini. See page 50. 3

FIRST PRIZE DESIGN/PROTOTYPE

BETHAN GRACE MASON Black Hair Matters (obverse) Cardiff Metropolitan University. Winner of the First Prize in the Design/Prototype category. See page 25. 4

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

SECOND PRIZE DESIGN/PROTOTYPE

FINN BANWELL The Test of Time (obverse) West Dean College of Art & Conservation. Winner of the Second Prize in the Design/Prototype category. See page 73. 5

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

BAMS STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

Contemporary Art Medals 7

CONTENTS

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

FIRST WORDS MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE

THE POWER OF ARTISTRY JESSICA IHEJETOH

THE STUDENT WORK ARTISTS’ STATEMENTS & PRIZE-WINNING MEDALS

MEDALS BY SOME ‘NEW MEDALLISTS’ STATEMENTS

AFTERWORD

ABOUT THE BRITISH ART MEDAL SOCIETY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS CONTENTS 9

FIRST WORDS

The Student Medal Project was conceived by the British Art Medal Society as a means of reintroducing the art of the modern medal into art colleges within Great Britain, and has grown to include over a dozen UK institutions and one invited foreign academy each year, making it an international Project. Twenty-eight years later, it has become part of the curriculum in many colleges, in sculpture, jewellery and metalwork. Loyal sponsors provide prizes. For teaching the art of bronze casting, it creates a perfect module whether a college has its own foundry or sends work out to be cast. There are few experiences in the art world to match a bronze pour, and the skills learned – wax carving and modelling, ceramic shell or plaster cast making – can forever form part of an artist’s working life. 10

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

FIRST WORDS—MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE

In terms of the focus or the subject of a modern art medal, the themes are without horizons. A student may choose to examine their own feelings about a personal matter, or select a place of great significance; they may want to speak out in anger at political wrongdoing or celebrate poetry; abstract design and attention to the form and function of making a modern medal also feature as potential ideas. The parameters of two sides and an edge – a work of art held in the hand – far from being restraints, create possibilities. The prizes are based on engagement with the medallic medium, with several specific areas, such as lettering, or current affairs. Occasionally the Project proposes a theme, especially when an issue becomes so public that it almost suggests itself. Extinction of animal life inspired students last year. For the 28th Student Medal Project, ‘Black Art Matters’ was proposed to the colleges as a theme that would prove an inspiration to research and celebrate black art – historical and contemporary – in all its myriad forms. It is too often the case that supposedly great art has historically been categorised: white, male and Western, what is called ‘the white gaze’. There is a racial imbalance in collections and institutions, and often a marginalisation of black artists. What the Project asked of students was to explore, however they liked, any aspect of black art, acknowledging its origins and recognising its artistic value in their own lives. We invited Yomi Duratoye (who taught at Wake Forest University, North Carolina, and Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria) to comment, and what he writes here is both personal and philosophical regarding attitudes to art that is all around us, if we would just recognise it. ‘I will like to suggest that any student of African art needs to understand that Africa did not stop making art a century or two ago. Like every culture in the world, African culture is not static. As we know, a culture that fails to change soon dies. African culture is not hermetically sealed. It is 12

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

dynamic and widely influential. It influences and borrows to create new expressions. This is why I believe that a visit to the museums to study African art should be followed by visits to galleries that focus on African contemporary art. And there are many of those in London. Believe it or not, there is strong resistance in some parts of the Western world to seeing Africa as anything different from the constructed image of Africa as made up of societies frozen in time.’ There is, of course, the further issue of colonialism, restitution and object return. The Project brief was not intended as a political one, but students could take that path if they chose. This is a wide issue that museums all over the world must address as they seek cultural diversity in their collections, and strive to be inclusive. Professor Duratoye continues: ‘I think that cultural appropriation of African art happens when the form/style of an African artistic tradition is adopted by a non-African and claimed as originating from elsewhere. It’s made even worse when the appropriation is accompanied by the stigmatization of the African people. To be historically specific, cultural appropriation occurred when the art of a generation of European artists was designated as “modern art” while the abstract style of African art that influenced and facilitated this style was being classified as “primitive”. Clearly what was being designated as primitive was not the art but the people who made the art.’ What the Student Medal Project 2021 suggested to students – if they so chose – was to investigate the black art that is, in fact, all around them, from the growing number of black artists who are being shown to acclaim in galleries and museums, to award-winning films and contemporary music, as well as the written word. It was very encouraging to receive such a warm commendation about the Project from Professor Emeritus and Chair of the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review, Sir Geoff Palmer: ‘This kind of representative cultural work is important and

FIRST WORDS—MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

I hope that with advertising black students will become engaged in this section of the arts. You have my support.’ Because this was a year of a world pandemic, where teaching and attendance at art colleges became problematical, the Project offered a Design/Prototype additional category for students, in order that they could work at home if they could not get to their studios, or prepare their work for casting. This has produced wonderfully researched designs. A number of students have chosen to express how this year of restrictions affected them. An extended deadline meant that a good number of works did get cast: 74 from 14 colleges. Throughout this challenging year – by zoom and email – students and teachers have discovered ways to help and encourage each other and the result is a fantastic body of work. Marcy Leavitt Bourne Director, Student Medal Project; Secretary, BAMS

IMAGE CREDITS ‘Single Pour Casting’ and ‘Casting Crucible’; Roddy Mathieson, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee.

FIRST WORDS—MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE

THE POWER OF ARTISTRY Taking part in the judging panel for this year’s BAMS Student Medal Project has been an invigorating and inspiring process. As medals arrived and our virtual panel sessions began, it became clear that despite the challenges of pandemic, entries have been plentiful and impressive. It has been a joy to see students across the country express themselves through this complex and distinctive art form. As a Cultural Producer, I have spent much of my career pondering how to transform railway arches, concert hall foyers, schools and unconventional spaces into places where artists, artworks and collections can tell their stories. Attending BAMS lectures, listening to medallists and watching films of the casting process has fuelled my thinking, alongside discussions of connection and storytelling in contemporary art medals. It has been wonderful to see how so many students have chosen to explore the theme of ‘Black Art Matters’. Much of my own thinking over the last year has led me to projects focused on celebrating work made by forgotten voices past or present, including women and artists of colour. 16

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

THE POWER OF ARTISTRY—JESSICA IHEJETOH

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

Black visual artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers have a huge impact on our shared culture and many of this year’s submissions have sought to highlight this. Students have also explored the personal complexities of identity, allyship and equality in medallic form. Students’ research sheets have illustrated the rich heritage of Senegalese textiles, pioneering abstract artists and the universal power of African-American literature. Alongside this optional theme, our judging panel’s discussions focused on how students’ work has inevitably responded to the pandemic and the ensuing challenges. Many of the most moving works reflected contemporary conversations about isolation, social change, gender equality, family, and the strange and surreal times we currently find ourselves in. Although our lives have become much more limited, students have remained unrestrained in their thinking, craftsmanship and execution of their medals. Whittling down our chosen medals was no easy feat. As a self-described ‘maximalist’ I spent many evenings in internal deliberation with this year’s diverse submissions. When my fellow judges and I held three virtual sessions to discuss and admire these medals we felt totally energised by many students’ work. The process has been a pleasure and I am so grateful to have been included in the project. This year’s student medallists perfectly demonstrate the power of artistry, imagination and making at a time we have most needed it. Jessica Ihejetoh Creative Producer

IMAGE CREDITS ‘Outdoors Casting’ and ‘Sandcasts’; Roddy Mathieson, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee.

THE POWER OF ARTISTRY—JESSICA IHEJETOH

THE STUDENT WORK ARTISTS’ STATEMENTS & PRIZE WINNING MEDALS

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY; CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY; CARMARTHEN SCHOOL OF ART, COLEG SIR GAR; CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS, UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS, LONDON; DUNCAN OF JORDANSTONE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE; FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY; UNIVERSITY FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS, FARNHAM; CITY OF GLASGOW COLLEGE; GLASGOW KELVIN COLLEGE; LEEDS ARTS UNIVERSITY; NORWICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS; SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART, UNIVERSITY OF WALES TRINITY ST DAVID; TRURO & PENWITH COLLEGE; WEST DEAN COLLEGE OF ART & CONSERVATION; THE GUEST ACADEMY: NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ART, SOFIA, BULGARIA.

THE STUDENT WORK

BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF JEWELLERY COURSE LEADER, JEWELLERY & SILVERSMITHING DAUVIT ALEXANDER MODULE LEADER ON MEDAL PROJECT KATY TROMANS CASTING TECHNICIAN DANIELLA WEBB All entries are carved in wax unless stated.

PAUL BAILEY-GREEN Bee-utiful Nature ‘The medal shows how important bees are to our environment, for without them we could lose a vital part of our natural ecosystem, such as plants and flowers, and bees cross-pollinate. One side represents the bee collecting pollen, and the reverse shows the useful by-product from this cycle where the bees are producing honey, emphasising that we all benefit from this process.’

CATARINA RODRIGUES CAEIRO Beautiful Pain (plaster) ‘The main theme of my medal is a narrative that holds a strong and powerful meaning for me, one that would make people think of the history of humanity, of the way human beings act and acted in the past. Medal, travel the world, to warn how dangerous human beings can be for their own extinction. It is to represent the rights of women and their oppression; how many have remained silent; others that have been heard. A demonstration of my fury.’

MEIXUAN CHEN The Wall ‘The medal was inspired by the global pandemic, to show how people are struggling, but that there is always a sense of hope inside of our heart. The obverse depicts a man covered by a heap of ruins, like a skeleton of Atlas, bearing up a building, a symbol of the negative emotions faced during lockdown. The reverse shows a flower plot in the gap in the wall, symbolising hope.’

THE STUDENT WORK

ALISON FOWLER

EMMA JOENSEN

Be the Change

City vs Nature

‘The medal’s meaning is one of empowerment and encouragement, for even as an individual you have the power to change things, to say “stop, I want to be heard”. During these turbulent times, the change you want to see can have a whole host of meanings personal to the medal’s viewer. It is up to us whether we simply just carry on as we are, ignoring issues and believing we have no influence. We do, and it only takes one person to start the change.’

‘My medal is designed with inspiration from nature; I grew up in Denmark, being taught to take care of the planet and love nature. Every year more and more nature disappears due to farming, deforestation and expanding cities. This medal is a depiction of how industry is choking nature, but at the same time nature is very resilient and can grow anywhere, even through the cracks in the pavement of big cities.’

BENJAMIN JOSEPH HICKEY

In Your Hands

The Rise and Fall of Icarus (cast bronze) ‘I wanted to explore the duality of human nature and that everything in life is about balance. That even at our lowest points there is hope for a brighter future, and that the best moments of our life can slip by if we don’t learn to cherish them. The words written around the medal read, “without dreams, we cannot rise… without humility, we fall”, and in the current world situation we could do with humility and hope.’

PRAPASRI SUWANNAKHOT ‘I designed the medal during the pandemic’s first lockdown, which hit people in different ways, and I wanted to make a medal to be positive and encouraging. Shaped like a hand, the first side of the medal has quite a strong feeling of a life journey, and gaining experience as a growing person. I thought to balance it on the reverse with a shadow game, a reminder of less stressful times. It is more light hearted and cheerful, when the simplest things bring the most joy.’

MAYA HUNTER Pigeons ‘Pigeons: embodiment of peace; flying rat; symbol of love; messenger; urban vermin? A bird familiar worldwide, throughout the ages. The same bird, differing only through our perception. A noble bird, depicted in art and on jewellery and tokens of love, but also a familiar sight to any urban dweller. What do you see? Each side of the medal different.’

BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY

CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN DEPARTMENT OF ARTIST DESIGNER:MAKER PRINCIPAL LECTURER PHILIPPA LAWRENCE LECTURER HUW WILLIAMS TECHNICAL DEMONSTRATOR DALLAS COLLINS TECHNICIAN MARTIN MORGAN

MATYLDA ANSTIC The Turkana Tribe (wax) ‘My medal is based on the Turkana people in Kenya and how they are being hit by climate change. Both Abdoulaye Konate and traditional African art were the main inspirations for the design. They stood out as unique and bold, with such strong designs that I wanted to take forward. The shape is based on Kenya, and the body will have a natural unsmoothed texture resembling rock to link it back to cave art, a key part of my design process.’

RUBY BRADFORD Lost and Found ‘I want my medal to highlight mental health and the importance of being there for others. With the current pandemic, mental health problems with young people have never been so high. I want my medal to encourage talking to others and helping one another to get through something that is affecting so many of us. Together we are stronger. By creating this medal that is satisfying to touch it expands the whole experience of my work.’

MARY-MORGAN GRIFFITHS All entries are Design/ Prototypes unless stated.

THE STUDENT WORK

Unburned ‘My medal design is influenced by the Akan people of west Africa, their symbology and traditional textile pattern; in Ghanaian textiles every symbol is used intentionally. The Hyewonhye design on the back is intended as a symbol of toughness, “that which shall not be burnt”. The front represents the resilience of the human spirit. The chain design around the edge is a reference and a reminder not to forget the truth of Britain’s role in the slave trade.’ This work received a Merit.

CONOR HEPP

MIRANDA VAUGHAN KETT

Transition Reformed

Icarus 13

‘This medal is to commemorate almost fifty years of work petitions and meetings with the council to try and get a skate park in my hometown. I feel these people should be remembered for generations of the skate community to come as inspiration to persevere. The Mumbles Skatepark Association deserves praise and appreciation. Key names will appear on the medal, which features the skatepark bowl.’

‘This medal is in response to the work of Afrofuturist Angolan photographer Kilunaji Kia Henda, and his 2008 documentary photo-series “Icarus 13 the first mission to the sun”. His work explores a fictional Angolan space mission by reframing and reappropriating the architecture and daily life of Luanda. My hope is that by adding a tangible item – a commemorative medal – the inner life of Henda’s fiction could be extended even further.’

KAI JAMES Connection

Prize Winner

‘The meaning behind this medal is the idea of change and ways that people have pushed the world forward. Whoever contributes to freedom and peace would be awarded the prize. This project links to my overall ideas about change, how we have to push for equality in race and gender and in all other ways. The bell on the front is to represent the unity with races and a major issue of today’s world. It helps to create this awareness and represent the fact that people are still trying to fight for what is right.’

Black Hair Matters

BETHAN LOWRI HUGHES JONES Weave ‘A figure wearing an example of strip-weaving from west Africa caught my attention while I was researching, and a consistent theme with African textile work is that every piece is heavily detailed. I decided to incorporate the figure into my design. Using my own style I thought they looked like a king with a powerful, deep gaze. I also looked at pattern-making on bronze works. I combined these patterns in diverse ways to see how I could create a composition that would fit onto a bronze medal, telling its own story.’

BETHAN GRACE MASON

‘This medal is to highlight the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, looking specifically at how society treats black hair both in history and in current times. Black hair holds a lot of importance as it can represent a person’s identity, background, tribe and social status. But throughout history black people have felt pressured to fit into a white society, and have gone to great lengths to smooth and adjust the texture of their hair in order to conform. A lot of my work relates to the importance of individuality and speaking out about your beliefs. I believe it is crucial to illustrate the importance, the symbolism, the culture and the history of black hair. I began my project by taking inspiration from a past exhibition which addressed black female hair styles, including their cultural history, and artists such as Ben Enewonwu. My primary focus for the design was the illusion of texture, incorporating braids and Bantu knots.’ Winner of the First Prize in the Design/Prototype category. The medal is shown on page 26. CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Prize Winner BETHAN GRACE MASON Black Hair Matters, 65mm

Winner of the First Prize in the Design/ Prototype category, made from air dry clay. This design showed a sensitivity to an art form of great importance to black women the world over, historically and in the present day, a subject of some controversy thoughtfully researched and explained.

THE STUDENT WORK

CARLA PRINSLOO Untitled ‘I created a medal that fits in the fist, an image synonymous with activism and the Black Lives Matter movement, but it does not depict one. Instead, I drew my influence from black female artists whose work did not express aggression. It speaks to community and contemplation. Influenced by the work of Ronni Robinson, thyme is depicted on the flat side of the medal, to represent courage of women trail blazers. Glenyse Thompson’s work inspired the connecting lines to evoke conversation.’

TESSA RANSOM Black Art Matters ‘I went back to the earliest records of African artwork, and my medal is a nod towards the joy often found in the community and cultural dances. When spun, the medal creates the illusion of a dancing woman, and the rest is left bare in order to focus on the simple cave design. My medal is an homage to the culture that was and is still being captured today by prolific artists such as Michael Soi. The Alvin Ailey dance company also preserves this heritage.’

SARAH SMITH Homage to Fons Americanus ‘This medal is inspired by the work of prominent black artist Kara Walker, who makes politically charged work that challenges themes of racism. She brings attention to the experiences of black people through unidentifiable

silhouettes and caricatures, which I have used as well. Walker’s Fons Americanus fountain at Tate Modern, used allegorical characters to highlight the issue of colonialism. The shark on one side of my medal represents the perilous journey of Africans across the Atlantic; the reverse is a silhouette of Queen Victoria, resembling a coin and referencing the minimal value of slaves who were traded in the Americas. The purpose of this medal is to bring attention to black lives and narratives.’

FLORENCE STRANG Entomology for Africa ‘This medals was designed to bring an awareness for the lack of research into insects in Africa. Using an African artist, such as El Anatsui, as well as research into the problems currently facing Africa I created a design for a medal in the form of a beautiful beetle. In a time full of worry caused by disease, I believe it is the most important focus of modern science to learn more about where they could come from. Many diseases are spread by insects and studying their migration patterns could help curb diseases.’

ELLA TAYLOR Trapped—Mental Health Awareness ‘It is very clear that mental health – including my own struggle – has become a problem for many more people during Covid-19. I wanted to design something that was relevant and helpful. Through my research I learned that butterflies are regularly used as a symbol for mental health CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

awareness, and decided to use this as something people could relate to. I combined a positive approach while still showing the effects of the illness: this led to a design of butterflies being trapped, but including helplines to call.’

ZOE ROSE WORTON BLM: Then and Now ‘My prototype design looks to portray the Black Lives Matter movement during the slave trade, then throughout the Civil Rights Movement and finally in today’s society. I wanted to highlight important events in history and pay respect to those discriminated against because of the colour of their skin. The recent protests influenced my work and gave it a strong context, also the narrative by Samuel L. Jackson.’

THE STUDENT WORK

CARMARTHEN SCHOOL OF ART, COLEG SIR GAR SCULPTURE DEPARTMENT HEAD OF DEPARTMENT LISA EVANS MEDAL PROJECT TUTOR LEE ODISHOW FOUNDRY LISA EVANS, LEE ODISHOW All medals are cast in bronze unless stated.

SARAH ARTHUR

and drawing attention to the ongoing scandal of how they’ve been treated by the Home Office.’

Break the Divide, Make Change, Rebuild ‘Looking into the background of black art, it opened my eyes to the hardship of artists of colour and how they struggled in the art world, let alone in society itself. These artists were not judged by their skill or talent, but by the colour of their skin. The struggles still stand today, not just in art, but in all aspects of life. We need to “break the divide”, we are one, we are one heART.’

HARRY AYSCOUGH Fish ‘This medal is simply about the cycle of life and death.’

Black Lives Matter ‘The reasoning behind this design was to make people aware of the Black Lives Matter movement, and just to focus on that. By using the BLM, this shortens the words down. The fist symbol on the other side is the logo that represents this movement in history, a memory especially of 2020, because it was such an important time for us all. Following this, I want to move on and create expressional pieces to represent myself and who I am.’

TOBIAS MORTON Yin and Yang

THOMAS BELLINGHAM

‘This piece is about the balance of life.’

Ranti ‘The obverse depicts a spider – Anansi, from Ashanti culture – used as the emblem for the WWII 81st West African Division. This character could overcome his enemies with cunning and guile, a fitting emblem for the sort of fighting these soldiers would encounter. The badge was worn with the spider’s head down so it would appear to be moving towards the enemy, and this is how I have shown it on the medal. The reverse shows a poppy, but it is cracked, to symbolise how badly surviving African soldiers had been treated.’

DAN GOODCHILD Dog Lives Matter

MICHAEL PRIDDLE Ghetto Blaster Generation ‘For me, the ghetto blaster symbolises freedom and opportunity for the kids of the ’80s generation, growing up in poor city neighbourhoods all over the world. The ghetto blaster allowed poor, bored kids the chance to play music, create music and dance to music. Many youngsters took that opportunity and became rich and famous, possibly avoiding a life of drugs and crime: thank you ghetto blaster for giving us hope.’

BRIDIE CHARLOTTE TAYLOR

‘It is a bronze casting with a simple black/brown patina. The logo is a cartoon character that I created for my kids, Barry the Beagle. The medal is in solidarity with the Windrush generation

SOPHIE GRIFFITHS

With Tides Winds Change ‘Touched and grieved by some of the research, I’ve truly been wondering why we’re here.

CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY / CARMARTHEN SCHOOL OF ART

I hope for equality in this world before Mother Nature demands it. My main aim behind this piece is to emphasise the change that comes with the cycles of the moon. We are but islands floating in water. It does make me wonder at how fragile life is, while a change in the moon’s space in our solar system could cause a change to our water levels on earth.’

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS, LONDON JEWELLERY DESIGN PROGRAMME DIRECTOR GILES LAST VISITING TUTOR JANE MCADAM FREUD SENIOR TECHNICIAN CHRIS HOWES FOUNDRY ARON MCCARTNEY AT MCCARTNEY STUDIO All entries are Design/ Prototypes unless stated.

THE STUDENT WORK

MARWA AHMADI Bi-Culture – can you see both sides? (wax and plaster) ‘The two sides and edge of a medal are a good way to represent standing between two cultures. This is because not being able to relate to and be accepted by both cultures is similar to not being able to see both sides of a medal at once. Growing up I felt the need to be more like my white British peers and suppress things that made me stand out; later I regretted feeling embarrassed about where my family came from, and the egg form of the medal symbolises where we all originated from.’

HONOR BEDDOE Growth ‘As young people, we have grown up with the societal view that if women are hairy it’s considered unhygienic or not “feminine”. Whereas, if men are hairy it’s accepted as normal and “manly”. As an adult I have learned that body hair should not define femininity or gender. Body norms today are slowly allowing and accepting people to feel comfortable to express themselves in diverse ways. My medal does not have a front or a back; instead the design invites you to appreciate both sides equally, and realise body hair should be celebrated.’

ZOE CLARK Silence is Not Golden ‘Questioning and countering the silencing that happens within society, political structures and the media. Championing speech over silence. Focussing on how important it is to speak up and be heard, without judgement, and how valuable it is to listen and learn from people’s experiences, stories and histories, including those deemed uncomfortable within societal norms. The design reverses the

saying, giving “speech” the higher value on the golden side, and “silence” on the silver side.’

CAITLIN EVERSON Broken, A Lost Identity? ‘This medal addresses the complex relationship between abstraction and figuration by questioning whether the two sides can keep their original figurative emotion whilst losing their intended emotional identity. In the first side of the medal the face is lost behind a cloth. In a similar way, the reverse questions whether the reassembled broken can still be depicted from the original identity. Elements of the face are still recognisable, but not the expression. The two sides become emblematic abstractions of their former selves, elusive of what once was.’

FINLEY GOOLD Our 5ymb0lic M1nd5 (cast bronze) ‘My initial discovery of the 3 million-year-old “Makapansgat pebble” sparked my fascination and created a longing to portray, in my own way, how art and creativity should and do indeed transcend all societal and racial constructs. This weathered artefact bears a facial resemblance to Australopithecus, and by showing this on the obverse I am trying theoretically to abolish the current discriminatory constructs in place, in history and art, as the age of it transcends all societal history. The reverse is a futuristic rendition of the “face”, to suggest humans are inherently symbolic and artistic.’

LUNA HE Room 19 ‘My project is about me and focuses on my own experiences, taking its title from a story by Doris Lessing. The room is a metaphor, more CARMARTHEN SCHOOL OF ART / CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS

like a private space, which for me means a room that can’t be found, hiding things we can’t say and something that can’t be understood. In China, I was a caged bird, but when a caged bird flies out, even if it comes back, it is no longer a caged bird because it has been used to living free. The room is where we can be perfectly alone in a space in which to express the true self.’

AAMINA JUMA Where are you “really” from? ‘The position of black and brown people in majority white countries like the UK is conditional, as shown by the treatment of the Windrush generation. One of the small ways this shows every day is the loaded question “where are you from?”. With this question you are already marked as something foreign, and when it is followed up with “where are you really from?” it lets you know that your first answer was unsatisfactory and requires a justification for your presence. The aim of this medal design is to reverse the discomfort of this entire interaction on the person asking the question, and ask them to confront the intention behind their inquiry.’ This work received a Merit. Prize Winner

ANNA KAYODE-NEWMAN

Too plantain to be crumpet, too crumpet to be plantain (cast bronze) ‘My medal is representative of my personal cultural background, British and Nigerian, the crumpet side representing Britain and the plantain side, Nigeria. It is also about how, as 32

THE STUDENT WORK

Prize Winner ANNA KAYODE-NEWMAN Too plantain to be crumpet, too crumpet to be plantain, 70mm Prize presented by the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers, who in addition to the prize will purchase or sponsor the casting of the medal to add to their collection of winning medals. Despite the seriousness of the topic, the artist has engaged with both sides of the medal in a gently humorous yet thoughtful way, allowing the holder to see how crumpet and slices of plantain fit together, clearly detailed and representational, to create a whole.

a mixed-race person, I find it difficult to define myself, finding it difficult to feel completely accepted by either of my cultures, as we are often seen as too black to be white and too white to be black. This being quite a serious topic does not really relate to much of my other work that I have created as I usually try to make work that is fun.’

ELENA MARIA MOEDLINGER Just a Peek ‘This medal speaks on sentencing disparities, and with its symbolism questions the legitimacy of “equality before the law”. It depicts an allegory of Justice. On the obverse she sits blindfolded, but on the reverse she is lifting her blindfold just enough to betray her supposed impartiality, and her scales fall out of balance. Similar cases are not disposed similarly, offenders are additionally judged based on their race, gender, ethnicity, education, income, etc. To me, the way in which crimes are sentenced can tell you a lot about society and an era’s zeitgeist.’

OLIVIA NASH Let Them Eat Cake ‘Inspired by the “Medals of Dishonour” exhibition once held at the British Museum, this medal is for the museum itself. It’s a satirical response to the many sacred objects unjustly in the museum’s control due to colonialism, despite rising pleas worldwide for restitution. The front depicts a rich apology cake, inscribed with “Sorry for the looting and colonizing”, poking fun

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS

at how the museum uses performative allyship to evade lasting action. The reverse details some of the objects that might need to go into the mix. I am a jewellery design student who doesn’t shy away from political satire in my artwork.’

KATARINA SCHEUFELE The Uncomfortable Conversation ‘For years we have ignored conversations about the systematic suppression of black lives, as these were deemed uncomfortable. The society we live in has remained in its comfort zone of what is and what is not acceptable to converse about. However, with recent political/social movements people are slowly stepping out of this comfort zone. The rose thorn edge of the medal encompasses the uncomfortable conversation, as the viewer has to think about how to handle the medal without getting hurt.’

IMOGEN SLACK Nowhere to Go (cast bronze) ‘A medal to address the UK homelessness crisis whilst honouring the experiences of the real people behind the record high numbers. Society itself is symbolised on the obverse, depicted with a variety of texture, including holes through to the reverse. These holes represent the homeless population that lives amongst us but are often ignored and left feeling invisible. On the reverse I removed all other marks – as if everyone has gone home – isolating the holes on a stark background, confronting the viewer with the crisis. Furthermore, the thin edge not only amplifies the fragility of the situation but encourages the viewer to consider how close one is to being on the “other” side.’ This work received a Merit.

THE STUDENT WORK

CHUHAN XIAO Keeping in Steps (cast bronze) ‘Through the exploration of the relationship between my dogs and myself, I have found a relationship rather similar to siblings rather than owners and pets. The separation of my dogs and myself is physical, as shown by the two sets of footprints/pawprints on opposite sides of the medal. However, the bond between us is reunited by flipping the medal which extends the continuing prints on the edge. Moreover, these prints represent not only the strong connection between humans and their pets but also show the balance between humans and nature.’

SHUM LING YIN Free Like a Bird (wax) ‘Since the epidemic, we all stay home like a caged bird while birds outside our window fly freely in the sky. The medal is describing two switches of identity: first flip is the bird standing outside the window, second flip is the girl hiding behind the window. This describes the change of roles between people and bird in this period of time. The bird standing outside describes hope and the moment when the girl becomes a bird standing outside, no longer afraid of the danger outside the window.’

BOCEN ZHOU Different generations, Same fate ‘This medal is designed for women who have lost themselves in contemporary society. Many women have multiple identities under pressure from family or society: other people’s mothers, wives, daughters. But they only lost themselves. The front of the medal is a woman who hugs herself tightly, in a foetal position, a posture that can minimise injuries, the most secure posture. Embracing herself shows the state of contemporary women under constant pressure or fear of injury.’

DUNCAN OF JORDANSTONE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE JEWELLERY AND METAL DESIGN PROGRAMME DIRECTOR TEENA RAMSAY SCHOOL SUPPORT SPECIALIST, FOUNDRY AND 3D MAKING RODDY MATHIESON All medals are cast in bronze unless stated.

HEATHER GOURLAY Bless All Frontline Workers (gold-plated steel) ‘This medal was designed for all frontline workers who are keeping the country together working during this Covid pandemic. It is a tribute and a way of thanking those who go out day after day in all lines of work. It is a medal to recognise all people, including those who have sadly lost their lives during this time or indirectly. I hope the medal could be mass produced and raise money for charity.’

KARISSA-MAY MILLER Take Back the Night ‘Reclaim the Night is an organisation dedicated to bringing women a voice and a chance to reclaim the streets at night on a safe and empowering march. The aim is to put the issue of our safety on the agenda, with the mission of ending sexual, relationship and domestic violence of all forms. I have been inspired to discover the beauty of the night myself.’

MATEO MARTÍN MUÑOZ Same Sea, Different Journey ‘In this work I am to connect two different situations, the rise of cruise ship tourism in the Mediterranean and the denials made by various Mediterranean governments to permit the disembarkation of ships with refugees on board, who have previously been rescued from the open sea. I want to point at the inequality of rights between cruise tourism and the refugees, the paradoxical relation of two opposite things at the same time in the same place.’

CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS / DUNCAN OF JORDANSTONE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN

GAIL NECKEL I See You. Can You See Me?

FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY

‘This is my first ever bronze and I wanted to create something symbolic for me personally yet link to a universal truth. My year of birth symbol from the Chinese zodiac was the rabbit (Yang), and my partner’s was the dragon (Ying), and I have used these animals to represent the way we humans feel, as being predisposed to either one or the other of these characteristics. As the Yin/Yang symbols suggest, we are both simultaneously and therefore have the potential to be whole.’

DIRECTOR MANDY LEE JANDRELL

Teacher

SENIOR LECTURER, FINE ART LUCY WILLOW

RODDY MATHIESON

FALMOUTH SCHOOL OF ART

The Mobile Foundry & Head of Foundry at Duncan of Jordanstone Diagram (mixed media – tin, bone and gold)

SENIOR TECHNICIAN TOM HARRINGTON

‘It has been inspired by the struggle between the 1% and the 99%. The idea emerged out of the economic culture of austerity, inequality, poverty, tax avoidance and exploitation. During the pandemic, the idea took on a greater significance to me as public money was awarded through cronyism. Bone, the lives of people, creates the core, the building blocks of the structure, while the very tip is of gold, from rings bought at a pawn shop. The overall surface is sandblasted tin, a contrast to the polished gold tip. It is at once attractive, and at the same time bleak.’

All entries are cast in bronze unless specified.

THE STUDENT WORK

AMY ALMEIDA

SOPHIE BUTLER

The Ugly Side

Binding of Choices/Realms of Connectivity

‘I wanted to explore the ways medals have been used historically in a racial context. I discovered the “Am I Not a Man and Brother?” medal, the first anti-slavery medal to be produced. It stood as a token of disapproval of the slave trade, and soon became an object of fashion that was widely distributed. It became one of the more recognisable images of the anti-slavery campaign and led to growth in support for the movement. The reverse of my medal – the ugly side – is of organic shapes that resemble the lesions from manacled wrists.’

‘Illustrated on one side of this medal is a very tactile display of inter-generational relationships forming an idyllic community. Opposing this are the faint remnants of the same imagery, a memory of what once was. I was compelled to create this during the coronavirus lockdown when I realised what a detrimental effect a lack of community had on the well-being of one another, and how the importance of this within our society has dwindled over time.’

Prize Winner

‘The medal is inspired by a traditional Irish folk song, titled “Down by the Salley Gardens”. I wanted to reinterpret the lyrics, from an 1889 poem by William Butler Yeats, away from the original subject matter of youthful lost love, and towards an understanding of forgiveness, atonement and renewal. These songs transcend borders and connect us all through their indeterminable or mixed origins. Our perceptions of others too should transcend borders and politics. The term “salley” is thought to come from the Gaelic word for willow, a tree symbolic of healing, hope, harmony and growth.’

KIKI BIRTLES

Inherited ‘My medal represents how the younger generation have inherited the problems of the world and have been bound to hold its enormous weight, this being shown on the front where there is a shallow impression of the earth, and a person in agony having to hold it up, but also being simultaneously crushed, an imagery inspired by the Greek myth of Atlas. On the reverse, a peaceful scene is depicted, a figure asleep curled around the constellations, representing being drawn to the sky in dreams of escape from the earth, towards bigger things. The hair of the figure is wrapped around the edge, encasing both sides of the medal, showing the hope and chaos of our slow self-destruction, also, however, how this strange situation can amplify our creativity.’ Grand First Prize, awarded annually by the Worshipful Company of Founders. The medal is shown on page 38.

JULIA CRANE Saileach

JULIE DAVENPORT Motherhood, Threads and Connections ‘Everything in life has threads and connections; we are interwoven within the fabric of this planet. My focus here was on three children about to leave home and my role of a mother letting them go into the wider world. On one side of the medal is the motif of two elephants touching head to head, and on the other side the medal resembles a skimming stone, a reminder of

DUNCAN OF JORDANSTONE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN / FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY

THE STUDENT WORK

Prize Winner KIKI BIRTLES Inherited, 92×73mm Grand First Prize, awarded annually by the Worshipful Company of Founders, who also sponsor the casting of a medal to add to the Founders Medal Collection of their first-prize-winning medals. The prize is given for overall excellence in the medallic medium. With skilful use of both sides and the edge, the artist has created a flowing philosophical narrative, describing through metaphor how young people feel the weight of the world and yet are able to look at the stars for inspiration.

casting your stone into the unknown to skip across the ocean free. The threads criss-crossing the stone are a metaphor of paths which will cross and be intertwined.’ This work received a Merit.

ANNA HARRIS (and) nothing stands ‘My medal explores its own materiality through the imagery of a human hand and a topographic landscape, referring to the importance of both in the creation of bronze. The tactile, flowing nature of both sides, along with the extract from Tennyson’s “In Memoriam”, also alludes to this interaction between human and landscape and the transience of both. If even the landscape does not stand, where does this place the human instant by comparison?’

CAROLYNE HOLLAND New Beginnings ‘When making this medal, I wanted to represent my personal mental health journal, to show a “virtual” crossing from the darkness of depression into better mental health. To illustrate this I related my medal design to the Hawaiian creation myth of the octopus He’e. According to the myth, there is a long line of unlimited universes, of which ours is the last. He’e manages to squeeze between a gap at the destruction of the last universe and survived into ours as it was created. On the reverse, is a Celtic symbol to represent new beginnings. This medal has become a talisman.’ This work received a Merit.

FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY

LEIGH JACOBS The Heart of the Sea ‘A medal in two parts, it takes the form of a Sea Bean, known as “the heart of the sea”. They drift across oceans. Inside is a message: one side looks at dark symbols of crimes against humanity, committed by colonial attitude or ego, influenced by Ayesha Hameed’s film Black Atlantis. The other side shows the antithesis of this by the word “success”, which is described in Buddhism as “seeing the world with the clarity of the present moment, unattached to identity”. The purpose of this work is to reinforce the message that nameless victims shall not be forgotten and offer a way out of our colonial mindset.’ Prize Winner

AMELIA JOHNSON

Of Cavities and Hollows ‘This medal is not to celebrate, but offers something bitter instead. The obverse shows a hollow tree, once teeming with life as a nest and protector of the Carolina Parakeet, which has now been driven to extinction through hunting and habitat loss. The weight of the medal is to evoke the weight of responsibility, a provocation to the holder over the consequences of human action and inaction regarding the state of the environment. Both sides of the medal are highly textured, because I wanted the medal to be something tactile, brought to life through interaction, though it depicts the sorrow of death and extinction. I seek to portray the loss of this bird, shown on the 40

THE STUDENT WORK

Prize Winner AMELIA JOHNSON Of Cavities and Hollows, 75mm G W Lunt has given this prize, which has been awarded for the narrative between two sides of the medal, and their contrasting scale. On the obverse a section of tree trunk, with the rough details of bark enclose a hollow with depth; on the reverse a sudden change of scale brings the threatened species to life as the focus becomes its challenging eye on the viewer. Held in the hand, weight and texture exemplify these very aspects of a cast medal. A suitable winner for an art foundry prize.

reverse, where its eye stares back at you, judgemental, dark, like the cavity of the tree. A focus on birds features in my work. Their extinction, without action, will continue into the future.’

DAREM KADIROGULLARI Distance is nothing, I am with you (Design/Prototype) ‘Quantum entanglement in physics is when two particles become deeply connected by a mysterious force despite the overwhelming distances that separate them. I found myself thinking about this as an allegory whenever I felt homesick and realised that new ways of thinking about distance are not only possible but also compelling. One side of my design communicates how the simple act of looking up is enough to remind us that we all live under the same sky.’

LILY LUCK Untitled ‘The obverse of the medal depicts a fantastical, emotional scene of earth, with animals which are considered today endangered. The scenery follows the shape of the medal, appearing infinite and detailed. The reverse of the medal illustrates an open door, and a key which is out of reach. As the door symbolises now beginnings, the key is representative of being unable to return. This follows a quote by David Attenborough: “climate change is a series of one-way doors of irreversible change”. Data around the edge relate to percentage of carbon in the air, wildlife and relevant dates.’

FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY

LEARNING DURING LOCKDOWN INSIGHTS & REFLECTIONS FROM STUDENTS

BETHAN JONES, CARDIFF METROPOLITAN:

‘Initially I thought, how am I going to fit a broad subject like Black Art Matters into a small medal. I realised that the medal is an idea made into bronze, it just needs to reflect the surface of an idea, like an iceberg. I researched textile work from Africa.’ TESSA RANSOM, CARDIFF METROPOLITAN:

‘The Black Art Matters brief was a very difficult one, which evidently meant I was part of the problem. I took it onto myself to go back to the earliest records of African artwork, and found contemporary artists who reflect this art and culture today.’ 42

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

KATARINA SCHEUFELE, CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS:

‘Considering this medal was designed and completed in lockdown, I did not have access to the usual workshops or materials that the medal should have been made out of. Naturally this constrained me to using the materials I had at home and push myself even further during the making process of the model.’ JULIA CRANE, FALMOUTH UNIVERSITY:

‘Having never worked in casting before, the whole experience was a learning process. It felt meaningful that the steps throughout the process were slow and intentional, reflecting the subject matter, and that working on a small scale encouraged careful consideration of every mark and texture.’ RAZEENAH CHOPDAT, LEEDS ARTS UNIVERSITY:

‘Creating the medal has taught me a number of valuable skills, and although I had no experience with the process involved before this, it was an insightful journey that has opened up new ways of working for me.’ JO BELLAMY, NORWICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS

‘My medal is also intended to speak of the work of black and Asian artists who have kept the door open, and who continue to push for recognition and to seek cultural dialogue across a divide. As a white artist, I wanted to speak of inequalities while being mindful of the issues of cultural appropriation.’

LEARNING DURING LOCKDOWN

UNIVERSITY FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS, FARNHAM JEWELLERY, CERAMICS, GLASS PROGRAMME DIRECTOR DEBRA ALLMAN JEWELLERY AND SILVERSMITHING SENIOR LECTURER, LEAD TUTOR GRANT MCCAIG SENIOR LECTURER, JEWELLERY LINA PETERSSON CERAMICS AND GLASS LEAD TUTOR JOSHUA KERLEY All entries are Design/ Prototypes unless stated.

LOTTIE ANDREWS Working together towards a brighter future ‘This medal was inspired by our society living within the pandemic, which has impacted everyone in many different ways, and has allowed us to see people’s true colours. Most people have stuck to the rules and worked together to quicken the lockdown process, but others rebelled. I wanted to reflect these different views on the two sides of the medal. One side is positive, and one is negative. Hands are a key factor throughout the medal as they symbolise togetherness. However, it is ironic, because at this time we are unable to hold hands.’

BELINDA HITCHENS Addiction ‘This medal refers to my own journey of recovery from addiction. Addiction can take many forms, and addicts often cross-addict from one to another. Being in active addiction felt like being imprisoned, and faith in the 12-step recovery programme was the key to my recovery. Prior to starting the university course as a mature student, I spent part of my career working at an addictions treatment centre so this is a subject close to my heart. I used the Rhino 7 CAD to construct the model.’

ISMAIL AHMAD KAMRAN Resting in Peace ‘Life is a struggle, and the fast moving makes us forget the reality of ourselves. The initial resting place is in the womb, which nourishes the human body; once born, the exposure to the world leaves the human restless. Some people make millions, some barely make ends meet. Ultimately we all die, and that’s when we find the second resting 44

THE STUDENT WORK

place. Within the shape of the medal are expressions of both resting places, and the sides of the medal have a series of different figures working during their lifetime.’

on the abuser. Family and friends can fall victim to these control tactics too, and need to be educated. My medal is designed to show abuse, but also light at the end of the tunnel.’

ANITA LOH

HANNAH NORRIS

Failure to Protect (wax)

Rippled Reflections (wax)

‘With the ongoing pandemic, health is at the forefront of our lives. Much of my work addresses personal matters, such as the death of my mother last year from cancer. I remember sitting in hospitals observing her chest X-Rays, fascinated by the ribcage. I found myself questioning the role of the ribcage, a form intended to protect the lungs, yet fails to do so against disease. To symbolise these adversities, I chose the white chrysanthemum to engulf the ribcage. The white chrysanthemum is one of the most elegant symbols of death in Chinese culture, and with its similarities of structure it seemed a suitable combination.’ This work was selected from other wax submissions, and the foundry of G W Lunt will cast it free of charge for the artist. Both sides worked well together, creating a design of good details that will be very pleasing when cast into bronze.

‘My medal is based on the ripple effect, the idea that a single drop in the ocean creates ever-growing ripples that have the potential to turn into destructive waves. I see this as not only a metaphor for the pandemic, but a reflection of my experience of losing my grandmother to Covid-19: the initial action of loss, the ripples of grief, to the still acceptance. I wanted to create a meditative object that was soothing to hold and feel. The ripples on the top side flow to the underside, revealing a still, polished surface that reflects the holder’s face, symbolising the act of reflection after a traumatic experience.’

ROCHELLE CHRISTINA MALIA Untitled ‘I created this medal based on domestic abuse, as I am a domestic abuse survivor. Because of this, I felt I needed to highlight an issue within domestic abuse that I feel gets overlooked, and has the potential to be lifesaving if recognised. It is based on this statistic from the National Domestic Violence Hotline: “on average, it takes a victim seven times to leave before staying away for good”. It is usually the physical abuse that is fatal, but prolonged mental abuse, from control tactics, leaves victims isolated and dependent

HELEN SHACKLEFORD Contrast of the Seasons ‘I chose the overall focal topic of my piece because of my fascination of the seasons and the fact that it not only links to ideas about the environment and how the beauty of it can be visually represented, but the idea of impermanence and how change can be explored. The environment never stays the same for more than 4 months at a time, so my final medal will represent this change yet not take away from the beauty shown in every time of the year. Seasons in my design are highlighted by the contrast between a spring blooming flower and the autumnal growth of a conker, and the idea of time passing can be seen within these images, the open flower in contrast with the buds and the open conkers versus the closed.’ UNIVERSITY FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS, FARNHAM

CITY OF GLASGOW COLLEGE CRAFT AND DESIGN DEPARTMENT CURRICULUM HEAD, PROJECT TEACHER LISA MCGOVERN PROJECT TEACHER DAVID FINLAY CASTING RODDY MATHIESON: ALCHEMY, THE MOBILE FOUNDRY

JULIE BURNS She is nature, she is man made ‘A portrayal of the juxtaposition within women and therefore the isolation we have faced through oppression, but our resilience because of it through nature and nurture.’ Prize Winner

AILEEN DICKIE-ADAMS

The Arts Don’t Exist in Isolation ‘When I considered the theme of isolation I was drawn to my experience of living through Covid lockdown as a creative person. Without gigs, theatres or galleries it has been like the collective spirit of The Arts has been made dormant. During my own lockdown experience, I began to explore the concept of rebirth through fire, as a way to try to combat the feeling of being lost and alone. There are certain types of plants that need fire before they release their seeds. Using the ancient technique of lost-wax casting, where the old form is burned away and the new stronger shape is left in its place, seems a hopeful analogy to me, and I have created in the medal the spirit of The Arts, dormant in its seed. The seed is waiting for the fire to pass. For many people the global pandemic has awoken a new creative spirit, for others their spirit has become dormant, awaiting the day that it will burst forth and thrive.’

KAREN DILLON Closer than Yesterday ‘The theme of my medal is black art. Art to me is more than a painting 46

THE STUDENT WORK

Prize Winner AILEEN DICKIE-ADAMS The Arts Don’t Exist in Isolation, 82×60mm Prize awarded by the Eric Gill Society for the use of lettering, in which the theme of the medal and the lettering are integrated to create an inseparable whole. The solitary word on the reverse, ‘alone’, is deeply set in a patinated background, and can be read from two directions, suggesting it is complete in itself. It takes the shape of the medal/ seed close to the edge, also a suggestion of isolation. The polished figure, set in a spiral, like the kernel of a seed, is ready to burst forth.

CITY OF GLASGOW COLLEGE

or written word. It is movement and grace. I researched ballet and ballet dancers of colour and discovered Misty Copeland, the first African American woman to be the principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. Her debut principal role was in “Firebird” in 2012. I wanted to show the beauty and strength in movement. She is quoted as saying, “I may not be there yet, but I am closer than yesterday.”’

Over the years I have seen films and read books written by and about people from a diverse range of backgrounds. I wanted to celebrate this, and have named two films: “Selma” and “Moonlight” on the obverse.’

LYNN GREEN Vector

‘My medal is about how people are left to fall through the cracks to rot in the system, and it has been inspired by my partner and friends who have been failed by social work.’

‘One side of the medal represents day (life) and the other side represents night (death). The sun’s rays are isolated during the night, symbolic of the dark confined feelings of isolation we may find in and around us during this pandemic. The sun’s rays rising on the other side nurture feelings of hope and wellness. Overall, this medal tells the stories of sadness and joy.’

LEWIS GIBSON

RUTH HILL

Isolation of Human Rights

Heritage, Stolen

‘On one side of my medal there is Martin Luther King wearing a face mask to show that in this modern day, no matter who we are, we are prepared to stand together in the harshest of times. On the other side is a clenched fist, which forms the outline of the medal. I decided I wanted to make a medal as a representation of the fight for human rights during this time of isolation because of the pandemic. There were constraints in the making of the medal, because I had to work on it at home with limited tools. It is heat treated to highlight details.’

‘Looking into the theme of Black Art Matters, my medal explores the story of the Benin bronzes, over 2500 artefacts stolen from the ancient kingdom of Benin in 1897 by British forces, following their act of slaughter, known as the Punitive Expedition. The artefacts were sold and distributed to museums and private collectors, and they are still “owned” by Western museums. The medal depicts the Benin walls, said to be four times longer than the Great Wall of China. They were destroyed during the sack of the city. The bronzes tell the story of Nigeria’s heritage and cultural identity, and returning them would be a way to allow Africa to tell its own history.’

HEATHER FINLAY Falling Through the Cracks (bronze, resin)

DIANE GREEN Film Reel ‘I took the theme of art, in Black Art Matters, broadly, to include film and literature. I believe in storytelling. I think stories can help us make sense of the world. At their best they can help us understand one another more. 48

THE STUDENT WORK

PHOEBE JOHNSON Glimpse of Freedom ‘My thoughts when starting to design this medal were on black history, and I decided to

focus on the importance of knowledge and making black history a part of the general learning curriculum. To some people, talking about racism and systemic oppression is a taboo subject and this is only because we aren’t properly educated on it when we’re in school, so people’s opinions are just their opinions, not based on fact. I wanted the medal to symbolise unity and equality, with lettering that says “power to the people”, using the fist as a symbol.’

during this time. I found it to be cathartic. I explored feelings of being trapped in social isolation. Being stuck inside, like in a dolls’ house. I explored feelings of fear, how easily it can overcome us without reassurance, and the undeniable consequences that fear and isolation have on mental wellbeing. The miniature person attached to my medal is chained to the house, able to reach every room – but not the door.’

SALLY JOANNA JOHNSTON

NAOMI MACKENZIE

Solitariness

Less Hazy, With You

‘The medal’s theme was inspired by “isolation”, the feeling of being alone in the world. My initial concept was about family members passing away during the current isolation due to Covid. It reflects the sadness and depression, but also the contrast of the inspired hope and strength of the depicted oak tree: “solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong”.’

‘In lockdown I spent my time with my parents back home in the Highlands. I wanted to express how lucky I was to be with them and to show how I didn’t feel so alone, because during lockdown it was very easy to feel isolated, but with both of them with me I did not feel so alone. On the medal I wanted to represent how without them I would have felt alone and hazy, hence the three circles on the medal, the central one being me, alone and hazy. My mum and dad alongside, highly polished and clear minded. On the reverse, the circle design shows us all being together, polished, less hazy.’

NICOLE KERR Time-Outing ‘The theme of the medal is “isolation”, which I explored by looking at the positive and negative sides. One side shows a design based on the mountains of Glencoe, and the reverse shows an hourglass running out. I chose these images based on my own experiences, once stranded up a mountain in a blizzard, but completely happy; also the general feeling of time slipping away from us during the lockdowns.’

HOLLY BRIGITTE MACDONALD Fear Does Not Stop Death ‘This idea of “isolation” in this piece is translated through my own experience

NADINE COLETTE MCGRORY Beauty Within ‘I wanted to show the beauty within all black women, just like their beautiful African homelands. I want to stop racism, by showing black lives in a beautiful way that shows we are all the same even though we are sometimes depicted differently by others. I was inspired by the ancient Egyptian sculptures of the side profile carvings on early wall portraits, and I am inspired by the African cultures. The design detail gets straight to the heartstrings of the viewer.’ This work received a Merit. CITY OF GLASGOW COLLEGE

LINDA MCROBERTS “…and still I rise…” ‘My inspiration comes from the Black Lives Matter campaign, and the internationally known writer and poet Maya Angelou. She spoke at President Obama’s inauguration, but she was also an activist. She fought for equality for everyone, and campaigned alongside Dr King. Her book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, not only illustrates a turbulent time in her life, but also shows the lives of poor black people. The poem – the medal’s title – shows that despite all outside pressure black people can still rise above it and fly.’

VENDELINA RIDAJOVA Good in Every Evil ‘I wanted to create something to give us hope in this pandemic and to later remind us of the lessons we learnt through the tough times. Hence the rain and the rainbow, because you cannot have one without the other. Rain can symbolise sadness, the droplets remind me of the distance between people. On the other hand rain symbolises cleansing and renewal, washing away past ills and to be given a new chapter in your life. I gave the edge of the medal a tree trunk texture, because trees represent life and growth, and shows the pandemic can help us change the world for the better.’

CAROLYN WALKER Isolation in Lockdown ‘I took inspiration from the lockdown from 2020-2021, where people have 50

THE STUDENT WORK

been put into isolation and not allowed any contact with other human beings. Some days are okay and some are not. Lots of tears and wanting hugs. On the reverse is written “Hug Me”.’ Prize Winner

CARLY WILSON

I need company, I need human heat ‘With my medal I have focussed on the isolation that we have all been experiencing this past year during the global pandemic. In particular I have concentrated on the idea of a comforting hug with loved ones and how much that has been missing from my life. With that in mind, I have designed a two-sided medal intended to communicate the longing for that contact and to go some way towards fulfilling that desire while it is being held. On one side of the medal there is a bird’s-eye view of two people embracing, while the other side features the words of the medal’s title, which is a lyric from Scottish band Frightened Rabbit. The pictorial side is more tactile in its texture; by contrast the reverse side is polished to a high shine, which simultaneously highlights the song quote and also feels smooth in your hand. The whole shape of the medal has been designed to fit comfortably in the palm, inviting the holder to turn it, touch it and look at it repeatedly as a method of de-stressing. The weight and warmth of the medal recalls those of the hug that it represents. It imparts a sense of comfort to the holder. In this way, the medal can serve as a symbolic gift from the giver to the receiver of the embrace that both are missing.’

Prize Winner CARLY WILSON I need company, I need human heat, 75×52mm Grand Second Prize, awarded annually by Thomas Fattorini Ltd, for excellence in the medallic medium. Whether it is because of an epidemic or simply a separation for other reasons, the artist’s medal captures a sense of the desire to hold and to be held. There is a nicely detailed perspective from above, of heads and hands. The shape is especially pleasing in the hand, and the personal, seemingly freehand lettering on the reverse contributes very well to the overall effect.

CITY OF GLASGOW COLLEGE

TEACHING DURING LOCKDOWN MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE TALKS TO LIADIN COOKE

MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE: This year of the pandemic has been

very difficult for teachers and students alike; how did you manage, especially during lockdown? LIADIN COOKE: It was obvious we had to find a way around

the restrictions to ensure students had the same material engagement as last year. How were they going to make a medal in their bedroom? It was helpful that drawings and clay models were possible, and our instructors moved heaven and earth to find ways for students to complete their medals. They were able to access guidance online, and we assembled packs of tools geared to each student’s needs, which they collected or we posted it to them. There were brief periods when they could get technical support in the university. 52

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

MLB: Is it possible that there were any benefits

to this experience?

LC: Not knowing what the future is from one week to the

next has been disorienting, but making a medal allowed the students to have a physical deadline to work towards. Working at home enabled them to be more self-motivated, to take charge of their practice, and gave them a greater understanding of how to organise their time and workspace as practising artists. MLB: Did the Student Medal Project become a

cooperative effort, so to speak?

LC: We pulled together. A group of excited and engaged

people emerged who were delighted in learning new and old skills, and supported each other. This year the students embraced the Project with, if anything, more gusto. The confidence this generated has been important for them to recognise that, no matter what the constraints are, there is always a way to make work. It allowed the students to explore ideas in depth and with rigour through focused material engagement. Without exception all the students want to continue exploring metal casting.

Liadin Cooke is Lecturer in Fine Art and Project Leader, in the Department of Fine Art, at Leeds Arts University.

TEACHING DURING LOCKDOWN

GLASGOW KELVIN COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF JEWELLERY LECTURER KATHLEEN DUNCAN TECHNICIAN IAIN BAIRD All entries are Design/ Prototypes unless stated.

LESLEY ANDREW Africa ‘The Black Arts Movement was important in modern American history, as it delivered a message of black pride, and these political ideas were applied to art and literature. It has been reignited and the modern movement is called Black Lives Matter, again influencing hearts and minds around the world. The back of the medal conveys freedom, while the shape and front portray the historical roots and the beauty of Africa itself.’

JACQUELINE BREWER Memory and Dream ‘I picked my subject matter of hummingbirds as they are inspirational, like little living jewels. They have special meanings in so many cultures, energy, wisdom and the ability to overcome. They are one of the crucial elements relating to the natural balance of land-based ecosystems. ’

EMMA BROUWER Grief (wax) ‘My father passed away unexpectedly during the first lockdown of 2020, and I wanted to create a medal that shows the hidden nature of grief. It is intended to show the hidden feelings that go with the grief process. I settled on the idea of a heart that looked normal from the front, but on the reverse it is carved with words that express the related feelings. I wanted to hand carve it, to help myself try and process some of these feelings.’

THE STUDENT WORK

SARA BROWN

LAN YOU

The Missing Piece (wax)

Cyber Bullying

‘This medal represents my feelings on grief and loss. When my granddad died in 2018, I suffered from broken heart syndrome, as he had been a father figure and my best friend. Since then I have been aware of the number of deaths in my social circles and how they impact on family and friends. Everyone is aware of the high Covid-19 deaths but I have researched that deaths from cancers, heart disease and suicide in young men are also very high.’ This work was selected to be cast in bronze free of charge by the foundry G W Lunt. It is a piece very much of the times in which it was made.

‘The reason I went for the theme of cyber bullying is because so many people nowadays have been affected and committed suicide because of it. I would like to encourage people to think before they send out posts, whether their comments are going to make a negative impact to the other person. I plan to carve it in wax, and I quite like the idea of using a keyboard button as the frame of the medal, and a half globe on the reverse, which gives a nice smooth touch.’

DARIUSZ JOZWIAK Collective ‘We are all 99.9% identical, all human beings. Equality should be a given to all, as we live here on the same planet. Most human suffering is caused by us, and it could be stopped if we work together. The medal would have the lettering, “No color, no religion, no nationality should come between us, we are all children of God.”’

KERRI-LEE MURRAY The Fight for Recognition ‘I thought the fist shape was very topical with the Black Lives Matter movement and would catch people’s eye. I then did lots of research into many different African artists, poets etc and found it so difficult to base anything on just one as they are all so unique, such as the breath-taking structure in Cameroon. So I felt the shape of Africa, with a recognisable African landscape in the palm of the fist would represent all of Africa and artistic work.’

GLASGOW KELVIN COLLEGE

THE VALUE OF TEACHING MEDALS MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE TALKS TO DAUVIT ALEXANDER

Dauvit Alexander is Course Leader, Jewellery & Silversmithing, in the School of Jewellery, at Birmingham City University. 56

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

MARCY LEAVITT BOURNE: Looking back over the past,

say, twenty years, what effect do you think that the introduction of the Student Medal Project has had on the teaching at art colleges? DAUVIT ALEXANDER: ‘It is an important part of the scene

for educators in metalwork, so much so that it has become an embedded part of several of the curricula I’ve developed over the last decade. I certainly hadn’t realised that the medallic arts offer so much educational value to students, not least of which is an introduction to a very pure form of expression.’ MLB: How would you describe the benefits to

students in teaching about medals?

DA: ‘At the School of Jewellery in Birmingham they learn

about the history of the art form, the importance of narrative and the inherent dialogues between the message and the medium. They learn about conveying narrative visually and textually. They also learn to appreciate the work of their peers and about the importance of a certain humility about what is usually a deeply personal work.’ MLB: What makes the Student Medal Project unusual? DA: ‘It represents a unique educational opportunity,

covering art, craft, design and everything else that the students feel they want to bring to it. The end result is always a celebration of their skills and talents.'

THE VALUE OF TEACHING MEDALS

LEEDS ARTS UNIVERSITY

SHANNON BENSON Dystopian Future

FINE ART INSTRUCTOR JOANNE HALL

‘Covid-19 has impacted our lives by confining us inside, allowing nature to reclaim the world. Global warming has decreased but this will soon not be the case. Imagine a world where face masks are a source of life. Humanity has to resort to a dependence on these machinal objects, as depicted on one side of my medal. The other side symbolises hope and a way forward; the choice is in our hands, highlighted by the medal fitting into the palm.’

3D INSTRUCTORS SHAUN WEST, YVONNE BAINES

Prize Winner

DEPARTMENT OF FINE ART COURSE LEADER KELLY CUMBERLAND LECTURER IN FINE ART/ PROJECT LEADER LIADIN COOKE

FOUNDRY G W LUNT All entries are cast in bronze.

THE STUDENT WORK

ELLIOT BIRT

Return Everything ‘The inspiration for the medal came from a link between the theme of Black Art Matters and a book I had been reading about the Benin bronzes, colonial violence and cultural restitution. The medal is a direct plea to the British Museum and other museums to return objects that were looted during Britain’s colonial era. My medal focuses on the notion of “transition”, the mode of moving from one state or condition to another and uses the medal to serve as “speaker” for the object it was based upon, stating clearly: “If found please return to: Benin National Museum, Benin City, Nigeria”. At the moment I am looking into socially conscious artwork, and this was all kicked off by thinking over what I should do for this art medal project. I am drawn to this field of art for its outward instead of inward orientation of meaning.’

Prize Winner ELLIOT BIRT Return Everything, 100×50mm Awarded ‘The Herbie’ prize for a medal that engages with contemporary political or social issues. The obverse and edges are carefully considered, reflecting the work by the Benin bronze artists, with intricate and detailed motifs. The darkened patination contrasts with a highly polished reverse, with its simple unadorned writing, as if it were a stamped luggage tag. The medal raises and celebrates the beauty and importance of the return of the Benin bronzes to Nigeria, very much a current topic.

LEEDS ARTS UNIVERSITY

RAZEENAH CHOPDAT Opposite ‘This medal was created based on ideas of opposition. On one side I have a bird and the other side a fish. The bird represents peace, freedom and change, whereas the fish represents the unconsciousness of higher self, feelings and the hidden. From this it is also clear that where these two live has an effect on their meaning. We can relate to a bird more, particularly as we can now reach their heights and higher, but the ability to see what is in the dark and below remains unseen.’

AMELIA COOK Constraints ‘My medal explores the limitations women face in their day to day lives – how women’s bodies are policed and how the physicality of our bodies can determine how we are viewed. It depicts a nude body surrounded by heavy chains that wrap over to link to a pair of handcuffs. These signify the sexualisation of women’s bodies, and the way women are controlled in society, as well as the racial injustices, and how race has a huge impact on how you are treated as a woman.’

TIA DUNN Save the Turtles We are facing a global environmental crisis, from global warming, unimaginable amounts of litter to the loss of biodiversity as a result of ignorance and carelessness from corporations and manufacturers. This medal specifically focuses on the 10 million tons of litter dumped into the world’s oceans each year. It is a clear reference to the “save the turtles” movement, where turtles and sea life are represented on 60

THE STUDENT WORK

one side of the medal by a turtle shell, and the reverse is a sharp tin can lid.’

NICOLA GARVEY Sweet Dreams ‘My work generally reflects the metaphoric dialogue between objects and the human condition. The pillow refers to “what was, and is now”. Where one would have laid one’s head but no longer present, either through distance or death. I wanted to make an unusual yet familiar asymmetrical bronze medal, a shape seen every day. Ironically, the bulges and folds have created indentations, perhaps it is a memory or wishful hope that we may one day see our loved ones again. Pertinent in a year where so many have been separated.’ This work received a Merit

KATIE GREENSILL Love Comes First ‘This medal is showing the story of a heart being passed to a lover to treasure and keep in a pocket, where, although battered and bruised, it lives and is safe and loved. It represents the love, the phrase, “til death us do part”, marriage, and the texture on the medal shows wear and tear, the passing of time. It also represents the love and strength within the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ+ community. Love is standing up for who you are and what you believe in.’

LUCY GRINTER The Possession ‘My medal addresses what it is to be a young woman. It comments on the way many men feel entitled to women’s bodies, assuming they have the right to touch whenever they

please, making women vulnerable. My work focuses on feminism and ownership of the female body so this was an important issue for me to address. On the medal a group of alien looking men reach around to touch the unclothed woman on the other side.’

JOANNE KELLY Two Sides of the System ‘My design takes inspiration from the traditional medallion shape, taking into consideration the associations of medals such as class, wealth and honour of authority. I wanted to subvert these connotations to display the disproportion of wealth, consequences of austerity in our capitalist society and the effect this has on the working class. I have portrayed this concept through the convex shape of the medal, which shows the manipulation of resources, opportunity and capital in favour of the upper class. Two contrasting sides articulate this: smooth and shiny for one, and rough and textured, which represents the workload of the labouring class.’

JONATHAN KELLY Reflection ‘The title refers to the design of my medal and also alludes to a time for self-reflection and contemplation that perhaps many of us have experienced in recent times. I was inspired by the bronze mirrors made in ancient China; I was also mindful of the more recent “fidget spinner” design, promoted as calming toys; and, relating to the formalist and abstract pattern-making within my practice, I was inspired by the shape of some horseshoe nails I found in my studio during lockdown. The circular spines on the obverse emphasise the tactile qualities of bronze, and the sides contrast with the mirror finish of the reverse.’

MIRANDA MELBOURNE Everything But the Kitchen Sink ‘The sink could be seen as a bond between all houses; their pipes joined underground, a small connection in our isolation to the rest of society. Washing your hands is among the basics of protection against disease. The sink could act as a talisman, protecting you from inside your pocket. My practice examines our society and what gives things worth – when does an everyday object gain more value? I like giving things a humorous spin, getting to play with ideas to see themes running behind them.’

DAVID MOSS Skimming Stone ‘My practice often calls upon memories and recollections. This piece is personal, a reminiscence of youth, seaside holidays and time with my brothers and parents. Skimming a stone is often an impulsive act, timeless and inter-generational or solitary and thoughtful. Aerodynamics, spin theory, surface friction are the science, but the reality is experiential, competitive if shared, contemplative if alone; pure emotion. A learned skill, passed on through generations, with no consequence other than the absolute need to smile.’

REBECCA O’HOOLEY What Can You Sea ‘My son is at the core of my work and provided the inspiration for the theme of my medal. I combined this with inspiration from the natural world, the sea, and expanses of subtle texture as elements to capture my child. I have a very special photograph of my son, lost in his thoughts as he stared LEEDS ARTS UNIVERSITY

into the distance at the edge of the North Sea, on a quiet Northumberland beach. This is my inspiration, together with other elements of my current practice.’

ATTIYYAH RAHMAN Woman & Child ‘The idea of a woman and child has been portrayed all through art history and literature, making it a timeless concept that we can both connect with and interpret in order to fit into our own opinions. For me, this medal is a combination of ideas that are personal to my background. It is a homage to my mother and younger brother, as well as myself and my brother; our growth from youth to adulthood. To some it may also depict the idea of gender transition: what was before and what is now, or they are arguably actually the same person. The medal addresses the theme of universal relationships.’

FRANCES TABBERNOR Choice ‘Listening to interviews with women brave enough to speak of their life experience of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) moved me to produce this medal. It has been designed to show the juxtaposition between the practice of FGM and the process of labiaplasty (the creation of the “designer vagina”). Countries in Europe where this choice is commonly performed are represented to link the two sides of the medal. Where education is put in place about FGM, it leads to choice which frees the next generation from the ritual. Are we able to bridge the gulf between those with no power or choice, and those who have choice?’

THE STUDENT WORK

ISABEL WEBB Crater in the Yucatan ‘Like viruses, we hover on the boundary between creator and destroyer. Catastrophes are an integral aspect of who we are, and evolution is undeniably linked to them. There is a common belief that humans will meet our end in a crater collision much like that crater in the Yucatan that killed our predecessors on this planet. Yet we have nurtured our own extinction and that of the whole biological realm. Therefore, my practice centres on the birth of a new life: the digital realm. The crater symbolises this concept. Written along the edge of the medal is binary code, which reads “birth”. The circular shape is also linked to ideas of religion.’

THOMAS WILSON Marks of the Land ‘The relationship between the maker and the material is a theme which is present throughout much of my work and is one of the main aspects of this medal. Besides the organic and sinuous form of the medal, what stands out the most are the intentionally visible tooling marks throughout its surface. These take on new meaning when observed from a macro perspective, as the marks and undulations suggest a landscape carved out by years of wind and other forms of erosion. This then alludes to the idea that the material from which the medal was made was once a part of the landscape.’ This medal receives the Kate Harrison Award, which was created to enable a student to visit the studio of an artist/maker to learn about setting up a studio or to discuss further aspects about medals with a professional. It is designed both to remunerate the working artist and to give a student the experience of discussion outside of college. Here, as well as being a successful medal, the student expressed interest in ‘materiality and craftsmanship’, highly suitable for this award.

NORWICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS FINE ART HEAD OF DEPARTMENT CARL ROWE SENIOR LECTURER (SCULPTURE) SUBJECT LEADER MA FINE ART DESMOND BRETT FOUNDRY AT NUA, TECHNICAL STAFF JAMES CASTLE, STEPHEN BASSETT, JAMES BURKILL All entries are cast in bronze unless specified.

Prize Winner

JILLIAN BALLAS

Eons ‘Before creating this work, I had spent a lot of time researching ecology, and one thing that always stuck out to me was all the various forms that the landscapes around us have taken throughout the planet’s history; that the rivers, mountains and oceans we know and love have gone through countless cycles, never ceases to amaze me. With this in mind, I wanted to create a piece that emulated the concepts of eons and the state of constant change. This medal reflects upon geological time and how the earth is always going through phases. In order to represent the passing of time, I decided to feature the same landscape on both sides of the medal; although the mountain on each side is almost the same, the surrounding landscape reveals a different era in that environment’s history. The edge represents stratification in the earth’s surface, with Roman numerals as another reminder of past time.’ Winner of the The Bigbury Mint Honourable Mention prize. The medal is shown on page 64.

JO BELLAMY Ajar ‘The medal commemorates two important events in the history of black art in Britain. The first of these was the First National Black Art Convention held in 1983 at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, organised by the BLK Art Group. The second is The Other Story exhibition which took place at the Hayward Gallery in 1989, curated by Rasheed Araeen. While these events raised the profile of black and Asian artists and succeeded in opening doors to some extent in the world of contemporary art, momentum for recognition and inclusion failed to develop. The partially

LEEDS ARTS UNIVERSITY / NORWICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS

Prize Winner JILLIAN BALLAS Eons, 70mm The Bigbury Mint in Devon awards the Honourable Mention prize annually. What stands out with this medal are the subtle details of the environment, the trees, the water, the sky and the mountain, all given different textures. There is exactly the temporal quality that the artist describes, as one turns the medal from one side to the other: passage of time in the hand. The engagement with the edge, which shows the layers of earth, completes the narrative

THE STUDENT WORK

open, but fixed, door in the centre of the medal represents these events as moments of significance in the history of black and Asian art in Britain.’

RYAN BRODY Freedom/Inequality ‘I think it is important for everyone to have a say in the issues raised in this competition as the effect it has is very real and relevant to a vast proportion of the population of the world we share, and the writing on my medal – “Everyone has the right to freedom / Inequality still exists” – was a genuine response. The work is related to my painting, to convey the way I create them, an instinctual process where I paint my thoughts and feelings straight on to the surface with no filter.’

CARL DURBAN Saluting Black Art (design/prototype) ‘I wanted to reflect the powerful image of the clenched gloved fist known as the Black Power Salute, the iconic image from the 1968 Mexico Olympics. This was in the midst of the urban race-riots in the USA, anti-Vietnam protests were becoming stronger and Martin Luther King had been assassinated. It was a very volatile time. I wanted to reflect the iconic image of the fist, but with the addition of a pencil and paintbrush to bring the attention to Black Art Matters, still keeping the strength of the first symbol. When it came to typography for both sides, I wanted to have something strong,

but with a slight graffiti style to it, sharp but with an edge. I considered a traditional medal shape, and felt it was more powerful to stand alone, not taking any shape but that of the fist.’

DAVID GREEVES E=hf ‘The reverse of the medal is inscribed with the formula which defines the properties of light and its possibility of being both a wave and a particle, known as the Plank-Einstein relation. I became aware of this through reading a book that posits a relationship “between music and the structure of the universe”. The notion of wave particle duality is echoed in the duality of solid and void of the piece itself. The void in the medal on the one hand is a space for light to pass through, on the other a means of representing illumination of the human form.’

SOPHIE HOCKADAY Roots ‘Black Lives Matter. This medal comments on the sickening racism that plagues our world. The only way to create real change is for those in power to do something about it. It all starts at the root. This differs from my usual practice in which I create abstract forms that have a relationship with nature where the viewer decides the meaning. However, with this medal, the relationship between the sides is transparent. The making of it was tough as I had a sprained wrist, and I incorporated unintentional marks within the piece.’ NORWICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS

Foundry Staff

STEPHAN BASSETT Learn by doing – Buy now ‘Having been on both sides of the education coin over a broad period has given me insight into how culture has changed. From a practical skill led platform to an enormous knowledge web and IT-influenced one. The medal concept of the title was a challenge to learn new ideas and processes and “Do”, continuing the educational lessons I had learnt as a student. Which for the medal included learning CAD and 3D printing.’

SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART, UNIVERSITY OF WALES TRINITY ST DAVID PROGRAMME MANAGER CATHERINE BROWN LECTURER ANNA LEWIS TECHNICAL SUPPORT COLIN TELFORD FOUNDRY IRENE GUNSTON CASTINGS All entries are cast in bronze unless specified.

THE STUDENT WORK

SAMINA BEGUM Breaking the System ‘My medal design was a product of the impact the BLM movement had on the world in early 2020. It allowed the world to see the bigger picture, which was that the system we live in is not working, it never has, it needs to change. I wanted to display how the impact of the movement has left a break in the foundation of the unequal system we find ourselves in. This is important to me because I, like everyone else, am tired of the injustice the black community face every day. My work comments on the social issues that we are facing today, focusing on those and human emotion, which led me to reflect on the BLM as part of this project.’

BETHANY JADE CORAM Celebration of Aissa Dione ‘My medal is a celebration of the textile artist, Aissa Dione, who is reviving the textile industry in Senegal. The medal shape is of Senegal, because of her love for her country. One side of the medal is cotton yarn, which is what her textiles are made of, and the other side of the medal is a close up of a woven textile. I am very interested in textile art, and it plays a heavy role in my work.’

CARWYN IESTYN LLEWELLYN A Relationship with Nature ‘The purpose of this medal is to demonstrate both the relationship and historical influence between African pattern and its surrounding nature. One side of the medal shows African pattern inspired by accurate and traditional imagery seen within the African culture. The other side of the medal demonstrates organic texture and form, thus creating a tactile surface often found in nature. Together, these two sides create an equal balance between the sharp cleanliness of the pattern, in contrast with the rough organic forms on the opposite side.’

SAMUEL MATHIAS Enough is Enough (design/prototype)

MEGAN JAMIESON Black Lives Matter ‘The shape of the medal is a square to represent “black out Tuesday”. Written on the medal are the three words, “I can’t breathe”, representing a huge movement for George Floyd’s death. These two social movements really made their mark and

have shown the power of social media and how people can come together to fight for something we believe in. The circular hole is to represent the transparency and unwillingness of some people, who, no matter what the evidence, will never see what happened and is still happening.’

‘After witnessing the BLM movements and protests last year, I knew I wanted to pay tribute to the victims and the movement itself with this piece. I wanted to create a powerful message of unity as an ally of the movement along with the wrongful deaths of black people at the hands of the police and unjust civilians. My imagery of the clenched fist was to create a message of standing unity against discrimination whilst carving the names of the ages of the fallen metaphorically into stone, so that their memory and their names should not be forgotten.’

NORWICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS / SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART

Prize Winner KATE SCALE No Barricades, 73×80mm Prize awarded by the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, for a ‘cutting edge’ medal, which exhibits experimentation with medallic art. Here, the artist, has chosen to create an abstract piece as homage to the black JamaicanAmerican artist of the late 20th century, whose work was colourful and geometric, and often overlooked. On this medal, it is the clean lines and gestural placing of individual elements that reflect on Pusey’s paintings, while creating a work of art in its own right.

THE STUDENT WORK

Prize Winner

KATE SCALE

No Barricades ‘The design itself was chosen after researching many artists and listening to their stories, Mavis Pusey being one of them. It was great to design something with so much meaning. The artists that inspired this piece showed so much determination and they should be recognised for their amazing talent and resilience. My aim was to produce an abstract piece which showed this strength. So many black artists had obstacles put in their paths, but they showed great strength, determination and integrity to succeed and to remain as one.’

EMMA JANE VAUGHAN Uncomfortable Conversation ‘From looking at the artist El Anatsui, I like his ethos of using waste materials to create his large sculptural tapestry-effect pieces, and he points out that Africans often use waste material to produce arts and crafts. The obvious starting point was to look at my own collection of waste materials and begin with his ethos to come up with a unique design. For me, I want to represent those uncomfortable conversations around BLM, so I have designed the outer edge of my medal with spikes. I have weaved and layered the pieces together, to represent gaining knowledge and greater understanding, hopefully

changing the conversation to embrace diversity.’

HEIDI L. WALTON Two Sides One Message – Inclusiveness ‘The medal is inspired by Thomas Merton, who shows in his collection of essays in the book “No Man is an Island” how vital deep connectedness is in communities, regardless of whether one is alone or surrounded by people, and how it is the inevitable basis of a happy life. Merton was a political activist, standing for human rights and has written many books. I translated into braille the quotation, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”. The braille symbols were positioned in a circular message on to the surface.’

PAULA DIANE WILSON Rugby Against Racism (with laces) ‘It has become more and more apparent that racism is rife within sport. We mostly hear about this in football but it is an issue across the board. As a rugby supporter, I believe there is no place for racism in rugby and it is time to make a stand. Scottish rugby have developed Rugby Against Racism bootlaces, funds from which will support rugby and inclusion projects; these are what inspired my medal design. The cross shape symbolises crossing out racism and the bootlaces are threaded into the final cast of the medal.’ SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART

JULIETTE ZELLEKE Tears of a Mother ‘With this medal I wanted to show my love and appreciation for the continent I grew up in. there are two Africas in my opinion, the one that I and a lot of others know – the strong, independent and beautiful continent – and the one that is portrayed negatively in the media – the sick, violent and poor continent. The beauty of Africa has always amazed me: from the colours of the cloths and natural environments and various ecosystems to the music and the art of storytelling. The story I always remember is that of the Cheetah, and their stained cheeks. There was once a hunter who was too lazy to hunt, and stole the cheetah’s cubs, training them to hunt for him. However, when the cheetah saw her missing cubs her cries were heard by an elder. He forced the hunter to return the cubs and exiled the hunter. To this day the cheetah wears the stained cheeks as a reminder. Our stories make us who we are, our scars remind us of our past, and we can heal together, and learn from each other.’ This work received a Merit.

THE STUDENT WORK

TRURO & PENWITH COLLEGE DEPARTMENT HEAD PROGRAMME LEADER, BA SILVERSMITHING AND JEWELLERY MARTIN PAGE FOUNDRY DEVON METALCRAFTS LTD All entries are cast in bronze unless specified.

Prize Winner

KERRA DAVIES

Wakanda Forever ‘The theme for my medal is Black Art Matters, with a focus on Wakanda, a fictional, hidden, highly advanced African kingdom from the Marvel comic book series, featured in the film “Black Panther”, a film that broke records and boundaries, boasting an almost entirely black cast, and director Ryan Coogler. It projected a strong and positive image of black culture to a multigenerational worldwide audience. My medal is inspired by the film and its lead actor, Chadwick Boseman, who sadly died last year at the age of 43. Boseman not only gave an iconic performance as King T’Challa – the Black Panther – but filmed the physically demanding role between bouts of treatment for cancer. He kept his health battle from the outside world until his death. My medal is in part a tribute to him and the legacy he leaves behind. The obverse depicts the iconic scene at the end, when King T’Challa reveals Wakanda’s powers to the UN and offers to share their advancements for the good of the world. The reverse depicts a scene from inside a cinema, within a globe, to show the far-reaching effects of the film. “Wakanda Forever” is the Wakandan’s unifying call.’ Prize presented by Pangolin Editions. The medal is shown on page 72.

reverse of the medal, seeds sit in the same placement to show the positive link between planting seeds and saving the bees.’

LESLEY STONE Dark Continent ‘I chose to concentrate on the theme of black art, and the inspirations for my medal came from researching African masks. As we are all wearing masks because of Covid 19, it seemed a logical first line of investigation and part of the current zeitgeist. I discovered a fabulous piece from Benin, a carved ivory mask representing Queen Mother Idia of the Edo peoples of Nigeria. I was also enthralled by the work of a young Liberian British artist called Lina Iris Viktor, who calls some of her work “Dark Continent”. She paints her own body with a black “mask” onto the face to help to reinforce the positive concepts of the word “black”, which is usually described in negative terms. The mask and the work of Viktor, two strong women, both captured my imagination, one from the past and one working today. It also felt current to choose these iconic images. My medal shape is of Africa, with one image on each side.’

ESTHER MOORE Protect and Restore Nature ‘My medal is inspired by the Earthshot Prize, launched by Prince William with the aim of protecting and restoring nature over the next ten years. Ten bees represent the ten years we have to increase their population numbers. A single bee on one side migrates to a swarm. On the

SWANSEA COLLEGE OF ART / TRURO & PENWITH COLLEGE

Prize Winner KERRA DAVIES Wakanda Forever, 60mm Truro & Penwith College Prize presented by Pangolin Editions. In terms of Black Art Matters as a suggested theme, the artist here has focused on the cinema: director, actors, and in particular the achievements of the late Chadwick Boseman. As well as a celebration, the medal is also a reminder of the delights of entertainment as something to be shared. The reverse, the interior of the cinema, has excellent perspective, showing the seated audience within a globe to suggest the film’s far reaching effect.

THE STUDENT WORK

WEST DEAN COLLEGE OF ART & CONSERVATION LEADER/MEDAL TUTOR GRANT MCCAIG Both entries are Design/Prototypes.

Prize Winner

FINN BANWELL

The Test of Time ‘This medal design is inspired by the legacy of some of the oldest buildings still standing today: the ziggurat structure. The pyramidal structures were built as early as 4000BCE, on different continents by civilisations thousands of miles apart, who had no contact. What I find fascinating about them is their direct simplicity. Constructed with the most primitive of hand tools, these colossal structures feel very raw and instinctively human. On the reverse we have the modern cityscape, focused around the “Gherkin” in London. These modern buildings bear little relationship to the human scale; monstrous, enormous, they dominate the skyline. It is a striking comparison to the simple and uncomplicated ziggurat, but part of the same lineage. The edge documents time as a single drifting line, a marker of the time that has elapsed from the first buildings to the most recent, punctuated by events of global significance along the way.’ Winner of the Second Prize in the Design/Prototype category. The medal is shown on page 74.

ALEXANDER SUN Art Sucks ‘A study in self-loathing, and longing disguised behind my favourite coping mechanism: sarcasm. The lettering reads: “I submitted to BAMS And All I Made Was This Lousy Medal”.’

TRURO & PENWITH COLLEGE / WEST DEAN COLLEGE OF ART & CONSERVATION

THE STUDENT WORK

Prize Winner FINN BANWELL The Test of Time West Dean College of Art & Conservation Winner of the Second Prize in the Design/ Prototype category. What is striking about this design is the anticipation of its ability to be cast successfully into bronze, showing how the patination would distinguish stone on one side, and modern building materials on the reverse.

GUEST ACADEMY

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ART, SOFIA, BULGARIA Each year an art college outside the British Isles is invited to participate in the Student Medal Project, both students and teachers. This year BAMS has included students from the National Academy of Art in Sofia, where they are taught by the master medalmaker Professor Bogomil Nikolov. The making of medals in Bulgaria is a very long tradition. Professor Nikolov has received international recognition for his work including the BAMS President’s Medal, and he also runs an international workshop of medal making in Veliko Turnovo.

SCULPTURE STUDIO PROFESSOR BOGOMIL NIKOLOV ASSISTANT PROFESSOR VENTISLAV SHISHKOV All entries are cast in bronze.

WEST DEAN COLLEGE OF ART & CONSERVATION / GUEST ACADEMY

Prize Winner

ALEKSANDRA ANGELOVA ANGELOVA

Landscape ‘Landscape is part of a series of medals concentrated on opportunities in life. It illustrates all the perspectives and all the paths that everyone has in life: “We change constantly and we are not static/Our individuality is unique/Our mind is part of nature and nature always changes/ Our opportunities are endless/ Our windows are always open.”’

ATANAS GENCHEV BORISOV Architectural Stage ‘The work combines geometric fragments and silhouette, architectural image. The selection of elements illustrates a scene that represents distant objects with perspective cuts and approximate, detailed sections of architectural construction. The exchange of different planes in the relief aims to emphasise the depth of the circular space.’

VASSILENA STANCHEVA Debris ‘What lies beneath the rocks? A self-portrait – raw as the emotions, raw as the true self, raw as a fossil coming from earth’s depths. Raw is a good place for an artist. It’s where the truth comes out, as Keith Urban says. Dynamic processes in nature make us witness endless variety of perfect forms in which each person reveals his/her individual sensibility. 76

THE STUDENT WORK

Prize Winner ALEKSANDRA ANGELOVA ANGELOVA Landscape, 105mm The ‘Best Guest’ Prize awarded for excellence, is presented as the Michael Roberts Memorial Prize. Here, the medal creates a narrative from the open architrave on the obverse, with a path into the distance, echoed on the reverse in a change of scale, showing a distant horizon and tree, suggesting an attainable goal.

GUEST ACADEMY

The medal is provoked by the hidden beauty of fossils, which preserve a captured moment of life for eternity.’ This medal received a ‘Merit’.

MEDALS BY SOME ‘NEW MEDALLISTS’

RAYA ZLATKOVA

The British Art Medal Society New Medallist scheme was inaugurated in 2005, made possible by the E.S.G. Robinson Trust in the past, also by the Brian Mercer Charitable Trust and by BAMS. One recent graduate each year is selected to continue research into medallic art, to explore the medium at different museums in the U.K., at the Royal Mint and to travel abroad joining other makers to attend an international workshop in Bulgaria, taught by the renowned medal maker Bogomil Nikolov. BAMS welcomes enquiries and will send application forms on request. The ‘New Medallists’ in the past have graduated from, among other art colleges, Falmouth University, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, University for the Arts, Rochester, Birmingham School of Jewellery, City & Guilds of London Art School and Edinburgh University.

Motion (steel) ‘This medal represents the infinite motion – the elements form a circle as a main shape, in which there are other circles, formed by the extensions of the elements – a neverending circle. The medal is different from my other works because of its material and the modular elements. The idea came to me spontaneously. The medal emphasises the perfect shape of all elements involved in their natural environment. The composition is a categorical arrangement, a specific symbol of infinity, spirit and matter.’

All entries are cast in bronze unless specified.

THE STUDENT WORK / MEDALS BY SOME ‘NEW MEDALLISTS’

ABIGAIL BURT The Chameleon ‘The chameleon is able to change colour to camouflage within its environment. In this case, changing colour to blend in with the medal he sits upon.’

LIZ DEW Homage to Homer (plaster) ‘The medal is in homage to Homer, created for the 16th International Medallic Project. The design represents absence and connection, themes in “The Odyssey” that are also very relevant to our experiences of the pandemic.’

KATE IVE Aqua Geode ‘This artwork is part of a series that addresses the detritus we are leaving behind, and the power of nature to transform, adapt and survive, through its ingenuity, restoration and reclamation of the landscape. It addresses our alarming plastic waste, which is largely ending up in the oceans. The medal, a bottle lid cast in bronze, shows a colony of barnacles taking over the inside space, making it their home, creating a geode effect over the inside surface.’

at Wheal Maiden Tailing Lagoon, where I used a kinetic wind machine to translate the power of the wind into a drawing.

CLAIRE POULTER Some Lines Are Immaterial ‘I made this medal listening to the debates concerning the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. I imagined the UK to be made up of a series of interlocking and connecting lines forming a grid, and the sea to be looser strands like a body. I wanted each mark to have similar qualities to each other. I thought a lot about how our ideologies and mental identities cover and distort our physical realities. I had not fully resolved any of these thoughts while sculpting them.’

NATASHA RATCLIFFE Balance (sterling silver) ‘The balance is in our hands, we must dream and act in new ways. Every wave, breath of air, great creature or invisible bug are inseparably connected. Every plant and creature are cogs to this planet, and we must oil them well.’

NICOLA KERSLAKE Wind Machine: Wheal Maiden Tailing Lagoon, Gwennap Pit, Cornwall ‘The obverse of the medal depicts trailing footprints set within the landscape of a disused Cornish copper mine. On the reverse, the footprints lead to a figure crouched at the foot of the machine. It documents my actions

MEDALS BY SOME ‘NEW MEDALLISTS’

AFTERWORD

Fourteen colleges within Great Britain produced medals and Design/Prototypes for this year’s Project, where they were joined by our ‘guest academy’, the National Academy of Art in Sofia. This year’s judges were: guest judge, Creative Producer Jessica Ihejetoh, Gregory Fattorini, Kate Harrison, Janet Larkin and Marcy Leavitt Bourne. As each college continues to use the medal to learn about bronze-casting, a tradition springs up, so that students look forward to their time of making medals at college. This year several colleges were very stretched for teaching and foundries were unavailable, so a few colleges were lost – but others returned – and we hope to see everyone reunited for next year’s Project. Keeping alive the art and craft of the foundry – at colleges or wherever the medals are cast – is also the aim of the Project. 80

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

The Student Medal Project is by invitation, to college departments of sculpture, metalwork or jewellery in particular, but also from other disciplines. BAMS will often be able to have an introductory talk arranged at the college the first year, and there is an instructive PowerPoint on the BAMS website. Teachers are invited to take part. Exhibitions are planned for 2021, if all goes well. From 17 May – 7 August, the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro will exhibit in their ‘Spotlight Gallery’ the prize-winning medals and other selected medals from the 2020 Student Medal Project (which lost out because of Lockdown), especially those medals on a theme from that year of ‘Endangered Species’. From 2 – 31 October, the Makers Guild Wales, Craft in the Bay, will show some medals from 2020, and will feature the prize-winning medals and a selection from 2021, where the suggested theme has been ‘Black Art Matters’.

AFTERWORD 81

ABOUT THE BRITISH ART MEDAL SOCIETY The Society commissions medals which are available to its members to buy. Since its formation in 1982, the British Art Medal Society not only has commissioned medals but also holds seminars and workshops, plans exhibitions, and continues to encourage artists everywhere to take a fresh approach to the medal. For the past sixteen years it has selected a recent art school graduate to join the New Medallist scheme, and awarded a travel and study bursary for them to continue their work with medals. BAMS also publishes the twice-yearly journal The Medal, to which writers and medallists from all parts of the world contribute. On the Society’s 30th anniversary in 2012, it published a book, ‘The New Medallists’, which includes essays about its work and contains a list of its commissioned medals. It is available from the Society, as are previous catalogues of the Student Medal Project. 82

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

The Society offers an advisory service to potential patrons, institutions and individuals on how to go about commissioning a medal. BAMS is also associated with the Fédération Internationale de la Médaille d’Art (FIDEM), which holds an international exhibition and conference every two years, and in 2021 this will be held in Tokyo.

The British Art Medal Society welcomes new members. Further information can be obtained from: Janet Larkin BAMS c/o Department of Coins and Medals British Museum, London WC1B 3DG Telephone: 020-7323 8260 Fax: 020-7323 8568 Email: jlarkin@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk Or consult the Society’s website: www.bams.org.uk Search Art Medals on facebook.com Follow us @BritArtMedSoc If you would like to purchase any medals directly from the students, or want to receive more information about the Student Medal Project, please contact the Director, Marcy Leavitt Bourne: marcyleavittbourne@gmail.com

ABOUT THE BRITISH ART MEDAL SOCIETY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Goldsmiths’ Centre supports the Student Medal Project with its administrative costs, including those for exhibitions and symposiums held at universities around the UK. This catalogue includes all of the students who participated in the Project, with details about their work, in their own words, edited for space. Sponsorship for the design of the catalogue and photography has very generously been given by the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers, The Worshipful Company of Founders and by the Goldsmiths’ Centre. 84

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

Sponsors of the prizes have continued to be very supportive and we cannot thank them enough. The Worshipful Company of Founders awards the Grand First Prize for the medal that most successfully makes use of the medallic medium, and continues the tradition of keeping a copy of the winning medal for the Founders’ collection. Thus their prize is a validation and celebration of the student’s work. The Grand Second Prize is presented by Thomas Fattorini Limited. The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers has set aside a fund to purchase the winner each year of their prize. This year other prizes were awarded by: the John Herbert bequest; Philip Roberts, the Michael Roberts Memorial Prize; Eric Gill Society, Joe Cribb; The Worshipful Company of Cutlers; Pangolin Editions; G W Lunt, who, as well as their prize, have generously offered to cast two of the wax prototypes into bronze; The Bigbury Mint. Kate Harrison has created an award for a student to increase their knowledge of medal making.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 85

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021

Thank you to our sponsors, those who have presented prizes and those whose generosity have made possible the designing of this new, on-line catalogue: The Bigbury Mint; See page 63 Thomas Fattorini Limited; See page 50 Eric Gill Society, Joe Cribb; See page 46 The Goldsmiths’ Centre; (Catalogue and administration) Kate Harrison; See page 62 The John Herbert Bequest; See page 58 G W Lunt; See page 40 The Michael Roberts Memorial Prize; See page 76 Pangolin Editions; See page 71 The Worshipful Company of Cutlers; See page 69 The Worshipful Company of Founders; See page 37 The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers; Catalogue sponsor and see page 32

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

COLOPHON

Published by the British Art Medal Trust, London 2021 BAMS c/o Department of Coins and Medals British Museum, London WC1B 3DG Design by Two www.twodesign.co.uk Typeset in Bureau Grotesque Condensed and Signifier Photography by Paul Mounsey www.paulmounsey.co.uk ISBN 978-1-5262-0873-6 © the publisher, artists and designers All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publishers. 88

BAMS—STUDENT MEDAL PROJECT XXVIII 2021