Art and Technology Exhibition - June 30th 2010

Date: Thursday 1 July 2010

Art Exhibition, 30^th June

Roland Barthes told his readers that in order to see a photograph properly one must turn away. This is the kind of comment whose slippery meaning is in its experience, and anybody wanting to know what that it is would be well-advised to visit the Art Exhibition.

Working within the bounds of exam specifications, the artists show no sign of the constraints that the world of assessment objectives might suggest. Rather, the workbooks and preparatory pieces that accompany the exhibits reveal the blossoming of singular ideas, each bearing the brand of individual concerns and interests. While it is possible to discern the influence of the artistic canon – one thinks of the colour Georg Fidlschuster brings to Man Ray or Annabel Chislett’s angle on the Pre-Raphaelites – the pieces remain unique.

Hannele Lewis-Anthony’s juxtaposition of the old and the young employs a traditional form to explore contemporary fears of ageing, while Alexander Denton presents his own Danse Macabre, led by a cadaverous, but nevertheless fashionable, pianist. Perhaps the most chilling, though, is Alice Obee’s work on anorexia and it is testament to her creative nature that she can turn her harrowing research into something positive. Elsewhere the lucky viewer will find dynamic flowers by Ray Jiang, who captures just how mobile still life can be and adds new weight (and some much needed colour!) to the adage that everything is in flux. There are a number of portraits on display and these are as impressive in their detail and in the capture of their subjects’ elusive secrets, as they are in their size. Here, the unsuspecting viewer will notice a rather striking one: an authoritative finger emerges from the iron pleats of a Soviet greatcoat, a steely gaze probes the soul of the arrested onlooker (already feeling a little uncomfortable) and a familiar moustache suggests that, yes, this rather martial figure is none other than Mr Knight himself, and painted by the staff’s very own Mrs Slater-Williams. A fine likeness, I dare say!

Design and Technology was represented by the innovative work of several pupils, all demonstrating how inspired its pragmatic world can be. From impressive athletic starting devices, through Olympic designs for energy drinks (surely worthy of a pitch on Dragons’ Den) to highly practical canteen trays, the Design and Technology pupils impress not only with the ingenuity of their inventions, but remind everybody of just how useful inspiration can be. Inspiration had been fired-up in Ceramics too, where a range of exhibits illustrated the aesthetic value of the medium. While Helen Sabine’s work played with proportion and relativity, other pieces thrilled with their scale and, in the case of Charlotte Lench’s fashionable pottery, quirky innovation.

Visitors to the Art Exhibition will identify various artistic schools in the work of St Edmund’s pupils, but they will also be reminded that (as one writer put it) there is only one school that matters: talent. This is evident everywhere in the exhibition and one understands this best when one leaves, still seeing and still thinking, even though one has turned away.

Thank you Mr Whitman for such a sophisticated review! Beats mine any day of the week!