So far...
Edinburgh College of Art's new students show great potential in their first collaborative show
So Far
Wednesday 25 November 2009, The Journal Issue 28
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“So far… so confused” is the resounding message from first year students of Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), and one that likely echoes up and down the country as young people settle into their first experiences of university. The group exhibition So Far… has embraced this collective confusion and channelled it into a collaborative show. 130 students have exhibited, organised and curated their work, which spans many different disciplines.
Those who have already experienced first year cannot help but feel a fond sense of nostalgia towards the work. Most students can relate to the feelings of blindly stumbling through the workload, whilst awkwardly forging new friendships and exploiting the newfound freedom. These themes are clearly expressed not only in the work itself, but also in the titles chosen by the students.
One of the exhibition's successes is the sense of a larger artistic community, breaking down the expected division between disciplines. The exhibition demonstrates a sophistication and openness to experiment, exemplified in Steph Suen’s work entitled 'So Far… I can’t say I have any regrets'. She has presented mundane everyday objects, referencing integral moments of her life. Displayed in chemical vials on a shelf, the work wouldn’t necessarily look out of place in a laboratory, blurring the lines between the objective and the subjective.
Malcolm Frazer’s 'So Far… debt is killing me!' stands out, refreshingly maintaining a sense of humour whilst tackling a serious issue. A blue figure is crushed comically beneath an enlarged metal stock graph, whilst to the side, a letter to his father displays a façade of niceties and underlying text reads “Can I have some money please, I will repay you somehow.”
Arts Complex, a non profit organisation promoting art education, has supported ECA’s first years in their first external exhibition. The exhibition displays a wealth of talent and a great promise for what is to come in the future, especially with such early integration between disciplines and a willingness to experiment.
Those who have already experienced first year cannot help but feel a fond sense of nostalgia towards the work. Most students can relate to the feelings of blindly stumbling through the workload, whilst awkwardly forging new friendships and exploiting the newfound freedom. These themes are clearly expressed not only in the work itself, but also in the titles chosen by the students.
One of the exhibition's successes is the sense of a larger artistic community, breaking down the expected division between disciplines. The exhibition demonstrates a sophistication and openness to experiment, exemplified in Steph Suen’s work entitled 'So Far… I can’t say I have any regrets'. She has presented mundane everyday objects, referencing integral moments of her life. Displayed in chemical vials on a shelf, the work wouldn’t necessarily look out of place in a laboratory, blurring the lines between the objective and the subjective.
Malcolm Frazer’s 'So Far… debt is killing me!' stands out, refreshingly maintaining a sense of humour whilst tackling a serious issue. A blue figure is crushed comically beneath an enlarged metal stock graph, whilst to the side, a letter to his father displays a façade of niceties and underlying text reads “Can I have some money please, I will repay you somehow.”
Arts Complex, a non profit organisation promoting art education, has supported ECA’s first years in their first external exhibition. The exhibition displays a wealth of talent and a great promise for what is to come in the future, especially with such early integration between disciplines and a willingness to experiment.
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