Depression, captivity and motherhood are just some of the challenging issues addressed in a provocative exhibition by Fine Art MA students at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
The exhibition showcases the diversity of work developed during the Master’s programme, giving students valuable experience in curating for a public event.
Suspended cocoons - Danae's exploration of depression
Following an exclusive preview for industry professionals, artists and curators last night, the exhibition is open to the public today and Monday 26 September from 9am to 5pm and is located in studio 9.52 in the Vijay Patel building, with works on display for sale.
The MA programme attracts people from all walks of life and for Cypriot students Danae Frangoudes, Andreas Papafrangou and Panagiota Taveloudi the qualification will help set them apart in a crowded workplace market back home.
Danae’s large-scale sculptures started off as a personal exploration of depression, and became much broader after gathering other people’s ‘confessions’, leading to the creation of huge cocoons, seen suspended from the ceiling.
Having spent five years at DMU, doing the Art and Design (Foundation Studies) followed by Fine Art BA before her Master’s, Danae feels well-equipped to start her job at an arts school in Cyprus, where she will be introducing and leading on sculpturing.
She said: “I loved the foundation course more than anything! I learned so many things on it, which I continued to do on my BA and I feel like the Master’s has really prepared me for the professional world.”
Andreas' work poses the question of animal captivity
Working with water and acrylic paints, Andreas is preoccupied with the notion of captivity and whether animals can ever be free. His paintings set vividly coloured and varnished animals on black and white backdrops representing cages and enclosures.
He said: “When you see an animal you can often think it’s free. Even in some zoos you can feel that way because they’re not always behind visible bars. But is any animal, even our pets or those in their natural surroundings, ever complete free?”
Panagiota developed skills in photography, performance, painting, drawing and many other disciplines during a Fine Art BA at DMU.
She carried on working with mixed media during her MA creating bold collages which show the relationship between humankind and nature through a mixture of photos and paintings.
She said: “The MA is really well-organised and the tutors are focused on us full time. We get lots of freedom, but they also guide and support us to find what we really want to do.”
Panagiota's mixed media collage
The programme can also be studied part-time to fit in with family, work and other commitments, which was a better option for both Rebecca Harvey and Tony Walker.
During the final year of her Fine Art BA, single mum Rebecca found herself without childcare support and facing homelessness.
The only way she could stay on top of coursework was to harness her situation and document the struggles that she and her young daughter faced, which she decided to continue and expand on through a part-time MA.
The 37-year-old said: “My work is concerned with the idealisation of motherhood and how the emergence of social media helps to perpetuate unhealthy myths about how mothers should be and feel.
“My daughter was three when I started at DMU so for five years she has been immersed in university life. This is my way of showing her how to break the cycle of depression, poverty and homelessness that I feel was passed down to me through the generations.”
A busy opening night with Tony's autobiographical piece in the foreground
After the economic recession in 2008/09, former office-worker Tony found that interviews and jobs became far and few in between so he decided to explore his passion for art.
Following completion of the Art and Design (Foundation Studies) and a Fine Art BA, he was able to continue with an MA thanks to being awarded a Vice-Chancellor's 2020 scholarship, which offers a tuition fee discount of up to 50 per cent.
The 61-year-old said: “My work is largely autobiographical using recycled materials. I decided to do an MA because I felt I had unfinished business and I wanted to experience working more independently.”
Other exhibiting students include Konstantina Anastasiou, Mirella Pitta, Stephen Rhead and Gavin Thackray-Jones.
Posted on Friday 23 September 2016