REFRACTIONS

refractions

I stop by Allan’s office on my way to use a guillotine. He is putting together this catalogue and it looks good. He is thinking about the opening text and who he should ask to write it. He jokes about using ChatGPT and runs a few prompts through the AI. It spits out clichés. The lines of the poem rhyme and have metre. This is, of course, not what he wants. These words are cold. They are dead before they’ve lived. I know he wants me to write it, so I say, “I will write it”. I want to speak of living things, like those in this book; work that is alive.

I speak to an artwork that sits in my office here at Northumbria. It is a photograph of my own degree show from 1998. A long dead thing. You see, I am a necromancer. A black and white photograph of a black and white symbol painted on a white studio wall. Séances have always been didactic exercises, so I raise it from the dead. The photo is rubbed in blood, but not blood you can see. It is a buried skull. Its eyes glow in lambent light, its jawbone rattling into a bony chatter:

Please, this is a theoretical text about something familiar. Consider it like a sweater with a photo printed on it of an unfamiliar adult hugging a grandparent, and think of it as semiology, like ‘I love my grandma’. Or think of it as a photo in a newly purchased frame, only there to be replaced. Or think of it like a meme, or a reaction GIF, and use it in that way.

Hmmm. Sometimes old things are difficult to understand. And I am only a necromancer.

Once a month I speak to the artist Lotte Rose Kjær Skau over Zoom, and we talk about art. She tells me she sees her works are like beings, that they need to be set free. Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s graphic novel Signal to Noise describes a director auteur who, facing his own mortality, likens shooting a film to ‘putting it out of its misery’, suggesting the final realisation of the work, imminent to its making-public, is a fatal one, that the work dies before it sees its audience. Zainab Bahrani, via the concept of šalmu, describes ways in which images that become autonomous beings and writing that brings statues to life. I visit Abdullah Qureshi’s studio in Ouseburn. He shows me some paintings he’s been working on, and he speaks of how paint is alive. Marcel Duchamp says the audience completes the work, almost as if the work is not fully born. William Burroughs isn’t so convivial. He speaks of creatures leaping from paintings; of books written to be swarming with deadly living organisms. But all artworks here, and all in states being alive.

These artworks, these beings, that you are about to meet are new, and they are alive. Each artwork like a person walking around in a moment.

KATIE AGNEW

Facing page:

Vomit

EVA material, paper maché, cardboard, modroc, filler, acrylic paint, PVA glue, contact lens solution, bicarbonate soda

georgia angel

Facing page: Three Heads Floating Sterling board, spray paint, acrylic paint and Gelli print.

I create industrial-looking art that appears worn and discarded to reinforce the notion of my work being taken from the street. My practice seeks to challenge the institutional techniques of displaying art, such as hanging it on a white wall or showing it on a canvas. Instead, my method undoes these requirements by using modern building materials that hold the artwork, making it appear to have been removed straight from the street. My work explores various graffiti styles, including tags and phrases. I use text to articulate the theme of my work, regardless of whether it is considered appropriate or not

Above: Cutthroat inside the world off Sterling board, spray paint, acrylic paint and Gelli print.

Above: The things we have left unsaid

Mixed media, acrylic paint and pastel

The project I have been working on is titled “The things we have left unsaid”, and it was created to provide a safe space to share the things we find hard to confront when we are alone. It is a place where we can confess things we are not usually comfortable sharing or never had the chance to share before. The things we wanted to voice out but never could, or lacked the courage to. This project is meant to encourage us to share our deepest feelings, grievances, confessions, fears, etc, in a way that is anonymous, in hopes someone who has experienced the same things can find comfort in knowing they are not alone. It is also meant to provoke thoughts and feelings that one might find uncomfortable or painful to acknowledge. My main goal is to express difficult ideas through art and to transform my inner emotional and psychological world – personal experiences, memories and feelings – into art that is both intimate yet profoundly universal. Art as a form of expression/therapy. It is heavily inspired by Tracey Emin’s quote: “the most beautiful thing is honesty, even if it’s really painful to look at”. My final exhibition will be a demonstration of the layers, complexity and the scattered thoughts/emotions of the human mind.

Facing page:

The things we have left unsaid Mixed media, acrylic paint and pastel

WE DONT DIE ALONE

Previous pages:

じろ見る (Pronunciation: Jiromiru, Translation: Stare)

Black card, white posca paint, pencil, double sided tape

A Kairos Moment

Wood, white wood paint, doubled sided tape, iridescent PVC

Facing page:

ガチャちゃん (Pronunciation: Gacha Chan, Translation: Miss Gacha) Cardboard, acetate sheets, acrylic paint, plastic ball, paper, bamboo skewer, hot glue, acrylic disc, metal keyring

I find my art making a cathartic process for exploring themes of death and existentialism. The concept of our inevitable demise is a daunting one, however my mixed media sculptures are designed to challenge and shift not only my perception of death but also our societies attitude. In doing so, these works are situated within a liminal space between the existential and the cute. Global assimilation underpins my practice, particularly elements of manga, anime and the Japanese culture. I’m also fascinated by the inevitable convergence of cultures into one universal future.

CLAIRE BAXTER

Facing page and above: Exploration Of Femininity Perspex, inkjet print on acetate and matte paper

EMILY BOOTH

Facing page: Untitled

Acrylic paint and mixed media on Fabriano

Louise caswell

VIKTORIJA CHATKEVICIUTE

Above and following page: Fallen

Cut paper

150 x 200mm

Chloe CLARK

Facing page: Distorted Visions

Inkjet print on glossy Fotosped paper

841 x 1189mm

Through my practice I aim to stimulate discussion on body image, visual representation,and the effect of both on an individual’s psyche. I use sound, video, photography and digital software to create an aspect of dystopia through grotesque visions. I portray ideologies around visual representation of the human form and explore how identity can be lost and/or altered through distortion and manipulation. My work creates a juxtaposition of extreme contrast; in this case beauty and monstrosity, which blurs the rational and irrational and is to subdue or normalise the ‘unknown.’

Facing page:

THEA COOK

My current artwork takes a unique approach to music and sound through audience participation using repaired instruments from collected items. This work is a musical piece that engages the listeners and invites the attendee to partake in the making of the art. My contribution was fashioning together the instruments, and the art becomes complete through the audience using the instruments, making them the artists. I assembled two drums using oil drums and bass drumheads. Tightening the drums heads to the rim created a resonance to create a loud drum sound. The work was experimental with different techniques to change the sound of the drums. The idea of this piece is to be loud and fun, I do not want this to replicate a normal drum exactly. As time goes on the plastic will wear and potentially break through when hit with the stick. I tested hitting the drums using different items to change the sounds. The glass bottles have different amounts of liquid in them, this goes in a scale upwards so that when hit by the participants it will make music, with the audience being the artists again. In essence, only through the combination of my work and the contribution of the audience, is this piece complete.

Facing and following pages:

Found Music

oil drums, plastic, glass, water, wood, tape, drumsticks

Dimensions variable

Above: Untitled Card, papier maché, paint

JASMINE CRUDDAS

This specific work represents the feelings that I experience when dealing with anxiety. The ways in which I have worked to reresent this is through the use of colour and texture; each articulating a different feeling or thought; everything happening, all at once. ‘Tired’ eyes, reflect back the a sense of exhaustion. anxiety can be.

Above and following pages: Untitled

Polymer clay, found objects

Dimensions variable

niamh douglas

The clay imitates materials such as fabric and clothing, something soft and feminine when the clay is a hardened material. There is fragility and vulnerability that correspond with the clay pieces I make which resonates with the historical roots of ceramics. I like to focus on what materials I can use with the clay, most of the time they are previously owned materials however I have used found materials also, this juxtaposition with the materials is something that not only matters in terms of aesthetics but also in terms of practicality and domesticity.

Above: Untitled/My Door (installation view)

Bed sheet, teddy bear, clothing, resin

Dimensions variable

katie edgar

Above: My Door Resin 200 x 200mm

Working across a range of materials including resin, metal, fabric and objects including clothing, I aim to explore themes of place, memory and nostalgia. My works include drawings of map routes, transformed objects, and also unaltered objects that act as artefacts of personal experience and memory. The works based around walking routes relate to a personal longing for being back home. I aim to maintain a sensitivity to the objects I use in my work through a delicate and detailed presentation of these through hanging and draping. Thoughts around personal and collective memory have been influenced by the use of both personal and anonymously acquired objects.

Above and facing page:

Scotch Corner

Ink on paper

2100 x 180mm

Untitled

Bed sheet, teddy bear, clothing

Dimensions variable

emma Faulkner

Facing page: Scrutiny

The aim of my work is to challenge the unattainable beauty standards put upon women. Using high definition photography and videos that highlight imperfections, and subvert the standards that women are expected to achieve; as set by magazines, ads, social media, etc

Above and overleaf: The Alien Bio-Plasticity of a Post-Humanism Future Mixed media installation

jade goldthorpe

caitlin hardy

Facing page and below: Test Strips

Water Quality Test Paper 130 x 5mm

54.973213, -1.827035

Wood, glass and water

Dimensions variable

Above and facing page: Synthetic River

35mm black and white photograph

150x100mm

MAYA HINDmarsh

Gameboard

Acrylic paint on EVA tiles

3024x4032mm

Spiral

Acrylic paint and Neon wire lights on wooden rotating board

2896x2622mm

Facing page and overleaf:

Petr HOMOLA

Above and overleaf:

Untitled

Plaster, electrical tape and board 2000x1460mm

Untitled Inkjet print on paper

Facing page, above and overlef: Sometimes I Feel Spikey And Full Of Holes

Glazed ceramics, unglazed ceramics, textiles, used packaging materials, duct tape, wood and acrylic paint

Dimensions variable

ellen honey

I’ve begun to realise that my practice is a reflection of my life.

Trying to comprehend what it is to be a healthy, functioning human being and to actively participate in being human.

The single most important part of this process is the connections we create with other beings and with our environment.

To be truly healthy we require authentic, intimate relationships with others, nature and ourselves.

Unfortunately, living in a world built on trauma, these things have become lost and almost alien-like to us ‘who-mans’, we are disconnected from the reality of who we are, and it seems that the only way to awaken any kind of inclination towards our natural healthy state, is to experience at first-hand a radical shift.

Radical shifts such as those caused by terminal/life threatening illness, the untimely or unexpected death of a loved one, or global pandemics. Things that give you no choice but to question who you are and re-evaluate your place in the universe.

Above and following pages:

Untitled

Inkjet on gloss paper

Dimensions variable

erin howe

As an artist my photography captures the essence of artist performance through the lens of identity, documenting their unique expression through the power of visual storytelling. My artwork is a collaboration between myself and the subjects, capturing the intimate relationship between artist and art, highlighting the importance of identity within the individuality of their work. In my pieces, I focus on the methodology choices between the artist and their work. Using my camera lens, the subjects become a forefront of my artwork as their identity takes centre stage within showcasing their unique perspective and artistic energy. Collaborating with an artist and incorporating their own artwork in my pieces, I aim to create a visual dialogue that highlights the interconnectedness of the artistic community, and how creativity can be born out of collaboration. Throughout my artwork, I hope to inspire others to embrace their own unique identity and artistic expression in recognizing the power of collaboration through fostering creativity and innovation in the world of art.

Above and following pages:

Madness, Sugar Tears and Clown

Mixed media prints

Dimensions variable

emma kelley

matteo kemp

My work is a critique of consumerism and the use of advertisement. I try to flip this narrative with the use of old and used shoes from my own collection by portraying these shoes in the same frameworks in which you would tend to see newer shoes that we buy. This also opens up the talks within sneaker culture on how sneakers are fetishised as people want to buy the new sneakers and keep them pristine and clean whilst I use my sneakers and disrupt the narrative that is shown in sneaker culture.

Abundance is an enquiry into the relationships that people have with material objects. I use a combination of my personal belongings and found materials to create sculptures and installations which consider the volumes of possessions that people have but may overlook or not use. Through my work I am asking the viewer to be curious about the materials that we see and use in everyday life.

Facing page:

Clothes That I Have but No Longer Wear is a personal piece which showcases my own clothes that I no longer wear however cannot get rid due to attachments.

Above:

Discarded Bottles is a continuous piece which is created using found plastic bottles. Each individual bottle has undergone a process of label removal, washing in the interior and exterior, filling with water and being crushed.

alice kershaw

Suspended Sacks is a play on gender and its relevance to a material. Using a combination of different neon-coloured tights, I have meticulously placed and weighed them down using gypsum plaster in an interesting, layered installation. The installation overhangs each of its layers to give it depth, the use of neon-coloured tights was to ensure it captures the viewers’ attention and the posing of thetights is to make the viewer intrigued about the ‘body’ forms or to ask questions about gender.

Facing page:

Suspended Sacks

Tights, gypsum plaster and pins

Dimensions variable

sophie laverty

My mind is Alcatraz. An impossible prison to escape. It is filled with fear and regret. I am sure you have heard of it.

You are probably wondering how I got here, Well…. the past is my crime.

My cell is cold and dark. And I am always scared, Of the place and the people.

The horrors these walls contain. Are hidden from the world, So that no one gets hurt.

Anxiety is my cell mate, They constantly make me question everything And make me feel bad when I have not done anything wrong.

I am constantly on edge, Never knowing what is to come next, It always seems bad not matter what.

When Anxiety starts to get bored of tormenting me that is when depression comes, to numb all the pain.

Over whelmed with sadness, I suffer in silence, Hoping someone will recognise my cry for help.

But does anyone?

Acrylic paint, paper and string on canvas 1220x550mm

kornelia luczynska

Above and overleaf: Identity 2.0 Digital video and photographic installation

Dimensions variable

The practice involves exploring my identity through mixed media; the pieces communicate living with two different identities; the best way to describe this is between choosing good and evil: Being the subject of my artwork allows me to tell a story on a more profound and personal level, as I can show vulnerability and acceptance of myself, even if that means dressing differently and going against what you’re told or taught.

Through my ‘visual concept’, I can show you the struggle I face and others that don’t fit the norm, and all I want is to accept for who I am/whom I want to be. The media I use in my artwork invokes chaos and disorientation as it displays elements looking through the lens of feminism, self-identity, hyper-visibility, and culture.

seymour mace

Above and following pages:

Mister Greenish

Found materials

2438x1041x736mm

Mister Moustache! Found materials

1828x914x736mm

Above: Please Ignore Me White T-shirt, black fabric paint, leather clown shoes

Lifesize

CATHY maDDREN

Facing page, above and overleaf: Untitled Inkjet prints on paper

rina santos

Previous and facing pages:

The Tornado

Circular steel, curtain, clothes, scarfs, wires and pins

The Luggage

Suitcase, clothes, shoes,glove and luggage tags

The Tent Clothes and netting

The purpose of my art is to create a space for healing, reflection, and celebration. I hope to instil a sense of love, resilience, and perseverance for both viewers of my art and the Ballroom community.

saranne scott

Previous page and below:

Striking A Pose Digital photographic prints

Above and facing page:

Oil paint, acrylic paint and charcoal on canvas

umberto shaw

Above:

Selected paintings from Lincoln Court, Upon Reflection series

Watercolour on paper 240x240mm each

Lincoln Court, Upon Reflection is a collection of watercolour paintings informed by photographs. Lincoln court was an assisted living home in Hebburn close to my home. I have engaged with this site since February 2022 during which time I have experienced and responded to the various stages of its demolition and the way this changed the space. The loss of the building brought fourth a sense of absence, in sound, light and community, which I respond to in my paintings. The refracted nature of my paintings reflects the displacement and fracturing that occurs when people lose a home, or a place of emotional connection, and the empty space responds to the quietness that remains. A place of care, an empty building and a pile of rubble, Lincoln Court now finally resides as a piece of land and a puddle reflecting its surroundings.

caitlyn Maesa wandless

Above, facing and overleaf: Cycle of a Witch Wooden crucifix draped in old bedsheets, soaked in various liquids and set alight

ABBIE WICKS

Above and overleaf: Anti-monument

Wood, cardboard, tape, paint, video and audio

Dimensions variable

Above and facing: Untitled

Acrylic paint mixed with hair dye (peroxide)

LUCY WILSON

Emotions and memories are a part of everyone’s lives. The experiences we go through and the emotions we feel are part of our journey and what make us unique and individual; they come, and they go. We can compare this to a bouquet of flowers, they eventually decay but soon new ones come along. There’s an intimacy and vulnerability to one’s emotions that we shouldn’t ignore – it’s okay to not be okay. Change is imminent and that is okay. It’s all part of life. Time moves on, but hope is always there

erin wood

Skull Photogram

BEE woodward

ARTISTS FEATURED:

Katie Agnew

@art.kxtie on Instagram

Georgia Angel georgiaangel887@gmail.com @georgias.arttt on Instagram

Daisy Araujo margarida.araujo24@gmail.com @mellifluow on Instagram

Sophie Bass

Claire Baxter

Emily Booth

Louise Caswell @louisejadeart on Instagram

Viktorija Chatkeviciute

Chloe Clark www.chloclarkfineart.tumblr.com @chloclarkartportfolio on Instagram

Thea Cook

Jasmine Cruddas

Katie Dixon

Niamh Douglas niamhdouglas2002@gmail.com

@niamhdouglas.art on Instagram

Katie Edgar

Katie.a.e2000@gmail.com

@kefine.ish.art on Instagram

Emma Faulkner

Jade Goldthorpe jade.goldthorpe29@gmail.com @nigell.arton Instagram

Caitlin Hardy caitlincathardy@hotmail.co.uk @caitlinhardy.art on Instagram

Maya Hindmarsh

Petr Homola

Ellen Honey honey.ellen@outlook.com @ellhonz on Instagram

Erin Howe erinnsme@hotmail.co.uk @h0wegroovy on Instagram

Emma Kelley Kelleyemma2001@icloud.com @kreativekelley on Instagram

Matteo Kemp

Alice Kershaw alicekershaw.artist@outlook.com @alicekershaw.artist on Instagram

Sophie Laverty @sophie_lav_fine_art on Instagram

Chloe Lomax

Kornelia Luczynska

Seymour Mace

seysaw@gmail.com

@seymourmace on Instagram

@seymourmace on Twitter

Cathy Maddren

Rina Santos

charitasantos69@gmail.com

@chariesantos570 on Instagram

Saranne Scott sarannescott56@gmail.com

@artistesaranne

Umberto Shaw

Holly Smith @hollysmith.artist on Instagram

Caitlyn Maesa Wandless

Abbie Wicks

Lucy Wilson

Erin Wood erinwood2308@gmail.com

@art_erinwoodon Instagram

Bee Woodward

Layout: Allan Hughes

Foreword: Mark Rohtmaa-Jackson

Selected photography: Jason Revell

Background images: texturefabrik.com/

Font: Emerald City by Bill Walker

With support from Academic Lecturers and Technicians for 2020-2023: Rupert Ashmore, Mike Booth, Gavin Butt, Alfons Bytautas, Chun–Chao Chiu, Julie Crawshaw, Fiona Crisp, Charles Danby, Cesca Ferrazza, Elizabeth Fisher, Ross Frew, Simon Gregory, Alex Harbord, Matthew Harle, Matthew Hearn, Ysanne Holt, Victoria Horne, Martyn Hudson, Allan Hughes, Mark Rohtmaa-Jackson, Sandra Johnston, Fiona Larkin, James Leggott, Kate Liston, Tom O’Sullivan, Francesca Parker-Madani, Andrea Phillips, Gary Pogue, Matthew Potter, Abdullah Qureshi, Ginny Reed, Jason Revell, David Sayers, Kate Sloan, Sunghoon Son, Corin Sworn, Judy Thomas, Lesley Twomey, and Simon Walvin. All of the Northumbria staff in support and administration with special thanks to Lilian Armour, Peggy Freyne, Kay Howell and Julie Heron.

We would also like to extend our gratitude to the host of companies, galleries, visiting artists and venues that have supported us over the last three years. The advice and the opportunities you have given us have been integral to our development as emerging artists and we look forward to working with you in the future. With a particular thanks to: Amanda McMahon, Kinnari Saraiya and Jemma Hind at BALTIC, Andrea at BxNU, Matthew and Steve at Gallery North, Liam and Kyp at Middlesbrough Art Weekender, Breeze Collective, The National Trust at Seaton Delaval Hall, IMT Gallery, Newbridge Project Space and Bookshop, North Tyneside Art Studio, Foundation Futures, Duke’s Academy and Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums.

Image credits: © All rights reserved. All images are copyright and supplied courtesy of the artists listed (pp164-165), all other images are as captioned.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders. We apologise for any inadvertent infringement and will rectify any omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by the Fine Art Department, Northumbria University, 2023 in an edition of 300.

Northumbria University

Fine Art BA Hons 2023:

Katie Agnew

Georgia Angel

Daisy Araujo

Sophie Bass

Claire Baxter

Emily Booth

Louise Caswell

Viktorija Chatkeviciute

Chloe Clark

Thea Cook

Jasmine Cruddas

Katie Dixon

Niamh Douglas

Katie Edgar

Emma Faulkner

Jade Goldthorpe

Caitlin Hardy

Maya Hindmarsh

Petr Homola

Ellen Honey

Erin Howe

Emma Kelley

Matteo Kemp

Alice Kershaw

Sophie Laverty

Chloe Lomax

Kornelia Luczynska

Seymour Mace

Cathy Maddren

Rina Santos

Saranne Scott

Umberto Shaw

Holly Smith

Caitlyn Maesa Wandless

Abbie Wicks

Lucy Wilson

Erin Wood

Bee Woodward