Fourth-year Painting students from Robert Gordon University's Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, including a student from the Silverknowes area of Edinburgh, have taken their work on the road launching a pre-degree show of their work in the capital.
The 27 students are showcasing their final-year work at an exhibition devoted solely to the art school, entitled 'Gray's Contemporaries', at 'art's complex' in St Margaret's House, 151 London Road, until 26 February.
The exhibition gives the students a vital opportunity to bring their creations to a wider audience outwith the North-east of Scotland, as well as giving the public in the capital a preview of the work being tested and developed in Aberdeen, before the students exhibit a comprehensive body of their work at the Gray's School of Art Degree Show in June.
Sophia Scott (23) from Silverknowes, will exhibit her two collage pieces, created using various materials including resin, oil, paint, pencil and ink.
By manipulating newspapers sourced from the 1950s, Sophia's pieces feature blacked-out text and images, poking fun at the issue of censorship and how this has progressed over the years.
The former Royal High School pupil has taken inspiration from famed British artists such as painter and collagist Tom Phillips CBE, who creates art from the pages of books, painting over the pages and blanking out text, and renowned sculptor, Richard Wentworth CBE.
Sophia explains: "By encasing the newspaper itself in resin, and using various materials to black-out text, I hope to convey how the written word can be manipulated through deliberate censorship and at the same time preserve historical records such as newspapers and photographs."
She adds: "I'm really excited about exhibiting my work in my home town. The reaction of the public to our exhibit will help steer the direction of our final projects and will also give us valuable experience of displaying our work outside of art school."
Emma Jane Campbell (22), from Dunfermline, has created a 12-part series of vibrant paintings reflecting her inner struggle in dealing with her dyslexia.
She explains: "My own personal battle with dyslexia triggered a curiosity in how the brain works and the process by which it organises information and thoughts."
By using these shapes as the base of her paintings, Emma has then built upon these, adding multiple layers, textures and colours.
Emma continues: "By transferring the shapes and patterns in my thoughts to canvas, the colours and textures instinctively follow allowing me to add multiple layers to give the work depth. I am constantly inspired by my surroundings and daily life in the city, developing new ideas on-the-go which I
then add to my paintings."
Heather Ross, Lecturer in Painting at the School, adds: "This exhibition is an excellent opportunity for emerging artists to get wider exposure for their work.
By bringing a show to the capital which reflects the diversity and individuality nurtured at Gray's, it gives the public in the Central Belt a taste of the quality of work being produced in the North-east."
'Gray's Contemporaries' will run until Saturday 26 February, 10am-6pm daily, in Galleries 2 and 3 at 'art's complex', St. Margaret's House, 151 London Road, Edinburgh.
The annual Gray's School of Art Degree Show, sponsored by BP, will be held from Friday 17 - Saturday 25 June 2011.
Ends 21 February 2011
'Gray's Contemporaries' will be the first time since 2007 that all final- year Painting students from Gray's will have had the opportunity to exhibit their work in Edinburgh. The previous 'Annual RSA Student Exhibition', which for more than 25 years was held at the Academy's Galleries on the Mound, was changed in 2008, to a format where a smaller number of students are selected from each of the Scottish art schools degree shows to exhibit the following spring.
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