Introduction
The group of students completing their MA in Fine Art in September 2009, have been exciting to work with, arriving from differing backgrounds and challenging preconceived ideas. Ideas re-examined both through the making of works as well as through the critical engagement of the course.
We have had many visits to museums and galleries where conversations start and then spill over into the studio. Our trip to Berlin cemented many friendships within this cohort, via a long night in the Ballhaus, intense trawls around numerous small contemporary galleries, and revisiting Casper David Friedrich. It is these friendships that contributed to the ease with which they organized the interim show at the Rag Factory off Brick Lane, sharing expertise and skills.
In this final exhibition a wide range of work and perspectives are shown, but I have also observed shared themes and concerns; the use of readymade or found objects, drawing lines that trace bodily movement, and a engagement with a range of representations underscored by personal experiences – where the knowledge gained through practice echoes the knowledge gained through life.
In these large spaces given over to the MA from June to September, each student has had a chance to make ambitious works extending their practice and to show a body of work, which is a demonstration of the ability to choose and display that which best reflects current achievements. It is above all a professional moment when each stands by their work and we have the delight and excitement of viewing it.
Dr Katharine Meynell