The MA in Art & Material Histories Interim show this year featured student research that spanned a broad range of materials and their contexts.
Sabine Pinon Amoore and Oscar Wilson’s work had much in common in that they share a passion for raw colour.
Sabine Pinon Amoore presented two major works that explored the origins and use of 88 pigments throughout Art History. Ranging from the earliest earthy ochres right up to the most recent industrially produced colours, Sabine’s beautiful display drew from her recent work in Cornelissen’s archive, and combined her own microscopy imagery with pigment powders, modelled molecular structures and beautifully written texts that narrated how, why, when and where specific pigments appear in the history of art. If you want to know anything about pigments in the history of art, Sabine is rapidly becoming one of the UK’s leading experts.
Oscar Wilson’s work introduced us to new and exciting ways we might look at and think about glass and how it functions within the urban environment. Juxtaposing the formal elements of architectural design with expressive mark-making and roughly treated surfaces, Oscar draws us into a world of opacity and reflection in which glass’ status as a symbol of material power is simultaneously asserted and undermined.
Roberta De Caro and Francesca Souza’s work brought us into contact with the materials of the domestic sphere, but in very different ways.
Roberta De Caro’s recent research has been focussed on the impact of domestic violence and how working with materials with our hands can help heal the wounds of trauma. Her project ‘From the Fragment to the Whole’ engaged members of a community of women who have suffered domestic abuse. In one-to-one practical workshops De Caro guided the participants through how to reassemble broken shards of glass into beautiful singular translucent plates that appear as whole but still bear the scars of their shattered pasts. This brilliant project brings together craft, therapy and theory and enables people who might not be able to easily access art and therapy to reflect on their pasts and continue the process of self and shared healing.
Francesca Souza has been researching everything there is to know about the dust in our homes – where it comes from; what it consists of; where is ends up, and the role it plays in the history of art. Reminding us that the vast majority of domestic dust is a left-over of what we once were (dead skin cells, nails, hair etc), Francesca’s research sought to expand the category of dust to include the cast-off objects of cultural history – that which appears in the dark recesses of the museum or in the unopened drawers of the forgotten archive.
Annabelle Moedlinger presented an expanded thesis on the ontology of the seashell. Combining moving image, photography, found objects, written text, sculpture and drawing, Annabelle’s fascinating installation spins us through the spirals of a speculative materialism bringing us into contact with crustaceous life, deep histories, socio-material politics, contemporary visual cultures, the digital and dance.
Matilda Sample has had an intellectual preoccupation with human blood for a while now. Underpinned by a background writing about Aids and Art, Matilda’s recent research explores menstrual blood and the stigmas associated with it. Framed by Feminist art of the 60s and 70s and working across a range of media including textiles, pvc, canvas and the written word, Sample coaxes us in closer to confront our prejudice around this noticeably un-spoken about human-material.
Maddie Hills has been exploring the process of pulping within an exciting and highly original project that looks to termites and termite architectures as a means to think about our relationship to paper and cardboard consumption. Combining strange towering sculptures with collaged found and authored spoken word, sounds and music, Hills builds a swarm of associations that draw connections between certain narratives of late capitalism and insectile behaviour and culture.
The end of year MA Show is planned for October 2021, and we very much look forward to seeing you there! Sign up to receive an invitation.