Foreword by Jess Van Heerden

What does it mean to be at this moment? To feel to know to care to speak to make to share. The ebbing, undecided sum of gone-bys (countless competing experiences, memories, histories, decisions, failures, triumphs) but equally the illegible markings of to-comes (simultaneous crossroads, hovering pencils, glowing embers).

This is a thread that connects the varied explorations of the makers and writers who came through the disciplines of Fine Art and Art History in 2023. Embedded into each of the works and outcomes shown (and not shown) in the 2023 School of Design Summer Exhibition, is an evidence of working outwards. Guided by interests, memories and personal histories, students have forged links between their lived experiences and the wider world.

Drawing from unique observations and encounters, students have produced work that negotiates specific questions, assumptions, and concerns (small, large, hidden, looming, suggested) but which leaves room also for viewers to develop their own meanings and significances. Perhaps it is in this exchange, the shared space between maker and receiver, that creative thinking is most powerful. In stepping back from individual works (made or written), gently connected webs begin to emerge. It is clear that investigations and approaches have been enriched and transformed by frequent collaboration and dialogue in each studio and tutorial.

This spirit of collaboration and exchange is especially evident in the works produced within this year’s Advanced Major Project unit (exhibited as part of the FAM+23 exhibition), which I was fortunate enough to participate in. Emerging from personal, individual perspectives, I saw my peers observe and respond to their surroundings. Not only sharpening conceptual premises and developing innovative approaches to materials, but, through sharing and discussing ideas, drawing links between alternative ways of knowing and being.

Whether “…weaving together the rich traditions of social etiquette from China’s Liangzhu jade culture with the contemporary landscape of social media…” in digital installation form to consider shifts in human communication (Tea [Tsztung] Tsang), a “…multimedia exploration into the interconnections between [the] two seemingly opposing states of existence and non-existence…” (Cait Dowley), or an employment of “…materiality and found objects to navigate the complex weight that generational trauma and colonisation have on identity and belonging…” (Megan Thannoo), each work acts as an invitation for viewers to reconsider how that fit within, respond to and make meaning as a person living, working and feeling in the world today.

Dedicated staff have encouraged and nurtured engaged, responsive thinkers. Investigations within the disciplines of Fine Arts and Art History, mark the beginnings of diverse and interesting careers, launching points for a cohort of unique thinkers and creatives who are equipped to respond to their contemporary world, in all of its beautifully confused multiplicity.

Jess Van Heerden

Bachelor of Arts, History of Art & Fine Arts majors, and Curatorial Studies minor, 2023