BA(Hons) Fine Art Degree Show Catalogue 2023 Vol.2 University of Sunderland

Cover Art Work

by Mia Allyssa East

BA HONS FINE ART 2023

UNI VER SITY OF SUN DER LAND

2023 ARTISTS

Hannah Brown

Ben Chorlton

Sarah Coombes

Stephanie Cooper

Summer Cooperwaite

Helen Dunn

Mia Allyssa East

Alex Jay Fletcher

Ana Catarina Gouveia

Anna-Marie Gallares

Bethany Hales

Jess Houliston

Ashley Jay Hunter

Briony Jones

Chloe Layton

Brogan Melville

Racheal Purvis

Chantelle Quigley

Stacey Simpson

Jude Warham

Chenyang Zhou

Ashley Jay Hunter

instagram: @a.j.hunter_becreative

My work focuses upon the struggles and importance of body image that women still face in society. I aim to capture the beauty of women and their bodies to distribute positivity and combat the negative perceptions bestowed upon women and the way they should look. My work aims to liberate and celebrate a women’s natural beauty, portraying both the natural body modifications (stretch marks, scars, and birthmarks) as well as the selfinflicted modifications (tattoos and piercings). Incorporating and merging two different mediums, paint and digital, I can present and reference the individual features of the women’s body in more detail to highlight and praise each participants bodies and normalise their individual differences.

Dissertation Title

Do feminist artists contribute to having a beneficial effect on women’s body positivity and how they are portrayed?

59.4 cm x 84.1cm

Briony Jones

email: brionyjones2000@gmail.com

The current body of works that I am creating offers insight into the thoughts and feelings behind being a part of the LGBTQ+ community. My pieces have been made with the intention of being very overpowering. They are created using neon paint with the intention of being used in company with a black light to create a bright, overstimulating atmosphere. I intend to reflect the feelings of being overwhelmed, sticking out and not fitting into the norm, all feelings someone who is a part of the LGBTQ+ may have experienced.

During this experiment, I decided to create my work with a mixture of string, nails, and both neon and acrylic paint as well as experimenting with some 3D sculptural elements. My hope is that I am able to help at least one person with the message behind my pieces and to show that LGBTQ+ is not a taboo subject and should be looked at more.

Dissertation Title

An exploration of how feminist artists have used language and text to support their views during the feminist art movement

Faces

neon wool on wood

122 x 154 cm

Chloe Layton

As an aspiring conceptual artist, I have begun transferring traditional art to digital mediums. Whereas I am better at painting I prefer the finish that a digital print gives. My work is focused on world building and creating detailed drawings to produce an atmospheric, 3D exhibition space. I have looked at different art styles including but not limited to Cubism, Abstract Art, Pop Art and Renaissance artists to combine them with fantasy designs. All work is considered to be interactive and encourages others to produce work inspired by it as a creative activity.

Dissertation Title

Expressionist influence on Cinema

Sea Foam oil on canvas 120 x 100 cm

Brogan Melville

website: https://broganelizabethart.wixsite.com/artandphotography

This year my work has been inspired by surface pattern design and designers. My interest was originally influenced by a design project I completed, so I have decided to take my experimentation with pattern further through creating a variety of different design artworks and using my patterns to enhance the appearance of various surfaces.

I have incorporated a range of mediums and materials in my pattern design practices as a way to explore the different approaches I can take when creating my work. I have also used the form of repetition in my artwork, which consisted of designing and creating my own stencils to repeat my designs to form patterns. As well as drawing and painting whole patterns by hand and creating illustrations from them, whilst working using different scales and surfaces to implement my designs onto.

I have also explored different methods and ways of displaying work, whilst still incorporating my pattern designs into my installations.

Dissertation Title

The Impacts of Art on Health and Well-Being

Racheal Purvis

instagram: @rachealpurvis2326

My exhibition is called Breaks in Reality. I am displaying a selection of works that vary in scenarios, bringing together the real world and fantasy. My work aims to allow people to grasp onto their own imagination and live out their ideal world, bringing about a state of childhood mannerisms. For those who have lost their child-like imagination, they are given the chance to take it back, and for those who still hold that creativity is given the opportunity to expand their imaginative mindset. This exhibition is giving me the chance to showcase my painterly talents, incorporating a classical style with a modern twist that is unique and interesting to my skill set.

Dissertation Title

Do artists help challenge the environmental issues that we currently face?

Kingdom in a Droplet acrylic on canvas

41cm x 51cm

Chantelle Quigley

email: chantellequigley1@icloud.com

instagram: artby_chantelle

My work is based around social media and its effects on young women today. I choose this topic as I think its massively misunderstood and often forgot about. In fact, most people aren’t even aware of the negative impacts of social media. Although it can be a positive place it’s also really damaging for young women and it’s not a topic that’s spoke about enough. I wanted to create work around this to make people more aware of the issues young women face. Young women feel like they must live up to the unrealistic standards that famous people and influencers post on social media of photos of themselves that are edited, took professionally, and use the best lighting, showing these perfect bodies editing out any imperfections that then leave young women feeling conscious of their bodies as they have stretch marks and cellulite. I plan to work with a range of materials during this topic but plan to choose my most effective pieces for my studio show.

Dissertation Title

What are the effects of social media on young women today?

Stacey Simpson

instagram: @arts_orchard

Focusing on the challenges faced in day-to-day life by those with different types of disabilities, I have created works that aim to spread awareness and to make those with all types of disabilities feel seen and heard. My goal is not only to empower and bring visibility to this topic, but also to educate those in our society that do not necessarily understand how difficult it can be to have a disability. I am acknowledging this through the creation of five characters that will represent different categories of disabilities through colour association, inspired by Ann Magills disability pride flag: physical (red), mental (blue), cognitive (yellow), sensory (green) and invisible (white). In addition to this, I have made multiple benches that are painted in corelation with these colours and will be placed through the exhibition. These will serve both an artistic and functional purpose, to allow accessibility for those with mobility issues to view not only my work, but for the whole exhibition.

Dissertation Title

How are disabilities portrayed through art in society?

Jude Warham

email: Judewarham@gmail.com

instagram: @dudejoyle

My art incorporates snippets from urban landscapes in a practise I call post graffiti

Dissertation Title

The Feud between King Robbo & BanksyAn Analysis of the Culture Wars Between Street Art and Graffiti

acrylic, emulsion, spray paint, charcoal on canvas 274 x 213 cm (and M detail)

Chenyang Zhou

email: zhouchenyang827@gmail.com

website: https://zhouchenyang827.wixsite.com/artblog

The themes of my work revolve around mental health issues and cat culture because it touches on the struggles of so many people including myself. I have gained a lot of inspiration and discussion of my own problems through my own mental health problems. I can judge the degree of my mental health at this time through the works I create at that moment. I think this kind of artwork can better make people face up to their inner problems and open their hearts to positive discussions, and to solve problems through art. At the same time, I also have a strong passion for cat art creation or cat-themed paintings. I have to admit that cats have a very significant positive impact on my mental health, because I am from China and I studied and learned about cats in the UK I found many interesting places in the process of culture. I am also very keen to explore the cultural differences between China and the West.

Dissertation Title

Evaluate how cultural conceptions and painting styles of Chinese and western countries influence cat art creations in a globalised world.

Fine Art at Sunderland

Fine Art has been studied in Sunderland since the 1860s. This long tradition gives the programme a rich inheritance and association with the proud history of art educationin the UK. The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art has a fifty year history in Sunderland and has recently opened in a brand new space in the University. The a-n Artists’ information company started in Sunderland as The Artist’s Newsletter, more commonly known as “an magazine”.

The University of Sunderland was one of the pioneers of Practiceled PhDs in the UK, with a strong cohort of art and design Phd students who are today creating new knowledge and ways of thinking for contemporary practice. Previous Lecturers and Alumni include Robin Crozier – the internationally recognized Visual Poet and Mail Artist, the nominated Turner Prize Fine Art graduate, photographer Richard Billingham, renowned sculptor and Emeritus Professor of Fine Art Eric Bainbridge and the painter Virginia Bodman.

The current Fine Art staff have a wealth of national and international exhibiting professional practice and subject expertise, which includes the painter Lothar Goetz, Associate Professor and Reader in Fine Art and Professor Mike Collier artist and curator, mixed media artist James Hutchinson, painter and facilitator Natalie Gale, curator and researcher Suzy O’Hara and sculptor and art publisher Ralf Broeg.

Ranked 6th in the UK: 89.7% of our published research in Art & Design: History, Practice & Theory has been rated as world-leading or internationally excellent in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.

BA (Hons) Fine Art

The BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree at the University of Sunderland has a rich inheritance and association with the proud history of art education in the UK. Subjects include: painting, sculpture, printmaking, digital photography, film, video, sound, drawing, 2D & 3D digital, performance and art history, delivered in generoussized individual studios and state of the art workshops. The aim of the course is to support and help develop students’ individual practices, so as graduates they can find their place in society with knowledge, experience and confidence, equipped with the skills required to succeed as artists in the 21st century.

www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/art-design/undergraduate-fine-art/

MA Visual Practice_Contemporary Fine Art

Work alongside a diverse range of established artists, theorists, writers, curators and specialist technicians to develop your practice and professional career and you’ll meet, share practice and collaborate with staff and peers from a variety of disciplines as part of the MA Visual Practice community.

Oct 2023 - Next start date

www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/art-design/postgraduate-visual-practice/

Contact us:

James Hutchinson (Fine Art Programme Leader)

j.a.hutchinson@sunderland.ac.uk

BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree Shows 2023

10 June – 16 June (closed on Sunday)

Monday-Friday 10am-5pm

Saturday 10 June 10am-3pm

The shows will be situated in our galleries and studio spaces across three floors of the building so there will be lots of great work to see.

Priestman Building

6 Green Terrace, Sunderland

SR1 3PZ

Acknowledgements

Creative direction and concept Fine Art Team.

The 2023 Fine Art graduates wish to thank all staff involved with the Fine Art Programme, for their help, support and encouragement:

Graham Bowes, Ralf Broeg, Mike Collier, Natalie Gale, Hannah Gawne, Lothar Goetz, Rob Hunt, James Hutchinson, Craig Knowles, Fiona Larkin, Caroline Mckay, Graham Mitchinson, Suzy O’Hara, Suzie Williams

Fonts: Akkurat Pro & Akkurat Light Pro

Paper: Revive 100 Offset (135/300 gsm, 100% recycled)

Printed by: