There's about 35 of us graduating this summer, and the critique was over in the Slade's Research Centre in Woburn Square, so we had a fair bit of space each there! We brought all our work over on Monday and decided where we wanted to show it. Some people had specific requirements with their sculptures or projections, so us painters tend to fit ourselves around these pieces.
Here's some pictures of the installation process, it changes a lot as discussion happens...
Between us all, in each room, we negotiated and curated our work. I decided to show with Holly Hendry who had created a fabulous installation, we were also joined by Martynas Noreika's paintings and, after much discussion and moving stuff around, we were also joined by one more painting by Fatima.
The space looks really great, I showed work that has been made in the last week so it's all pretty fresh. I decided to try out something different and display my ceramics on plinths and breeze blocks instead of just plonking them on a shelf, and I'm quite happy with how it looks!
Here are some pictures of the final set up...
With Monday and Tuesday's hanging and installing over, along came Wednesday - Crit Day! We had an eclectic mix of Slade tutors in our group; David Burrows (Media), Kieren Reed (Sculpture), Liz Rideal and Paul Richards (Painting), and once us student participants warmed up, we got talking and discussing points about each other's work.
Crits are always very delicate social scenarios. The direction and content of the discussions relies entirely on what topics or issues are brought up by the participants. It also depends on the group dynamic, how engaged and talkative the people are.
The discussion about my work was neither here nor there really, after an initial reaction from Paul Richards about my sculptures and the 'issue of the fragment' the conversation didn't seem to get past the work's apparent 'ambivalence' and 'struggle' to be successful outside of the studio environment. Unfortunately there wasn't any real conversation about my approach to my subject matter, which is a real shame, as I was looking forward to some bodily debate.
The only comments made about my paintings were that the ones with a more abstracted form worked more than those with obvious breasts or genitalia. There wasn't any real conversation about my enjoyment of the medium of paint, which to me is incredibly evident.
But you can't please everyone, and the week has taught me that I can't let myself be pulled in different directions by trying to follow all the tutor's opinions and suggestions. At the end of the day I have to do what satisfies and excites me. I know not everyone is going to understand or like my work, and that's fine by me!
So here are some installation shots and pictures of the work I showed...
Overall it's been a great chance to see how all of our work is shaping up in the gradual approach to our degree show! I'm excited to see how it all goes together for the show in May.
Xx
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