The strictures of this strange period have galvanised an inventive, even joyous resourcefulness, writes Sarah Kelleher
If a common thread can be discerned through this year’s graduates’ diverse showings, it is a meditation on space. Space here is broadly conceived – as public space, private space and social space. It seems inevitable, after our extended period of isolation, that there should be a focus on the ways in which our behaviour in and occupation of space were altered by the pandemic. Private spaces became work spaces; the sensory experiences of social space were made more narrow and also heightened.
From this year’s cohort of graduates there are granular investigations of the familiar, from studies of local landscapes to reflections on the ways in which individuals relate to the larger space of community. Despite the restrictions and uncertainties of the past year – and it is important to note that this year’s graduates have had two years of their art-school education disrupted by the pandemic – the attitudes on display are not markedly anxious or melancholic. Instead the outlook is one of resilience and confidence. It is notable that many of these graduates are looking back to historical moments of possibility and optimism – not uncritically, but as a way of inflecting the present moment.
John Noel Smith’s journey continues with an enlivening sense of momentum, writes Margarita Cappock
