Reveal and Conceal
I am delighted and privileged to introduce to you this exhibition book which presents work produced by students on my online course, Visual Narratives. Over the next few pages, you will be transported to a sublime selection of work that responds to the theme of Reveal and Conceal. These individual, multilayered interpretations provide a glimpse of the exciting work students on the course have produced. When deciding on the title of the exhibition it felt important to us that the theme acknowledged, and considered, some of the areas of interest and approaches that were evidently emerging and being explored by the students. In other words, we wanted to pay homage to the beautiful breadth of work that was already taking place. I hope you will agree with me that the work displayed over the next few pages is both varied, captivating, and thoughtful in its depth and quality.
As part of the course the students have been encouraged to embed reading and experimental visual research into their work and development. They were also asked to identify an area of interest at the start of their journey of making. Many of them went out with their camera to capture new stimulus and impetus for their individual responses. I have been so impressed with the positive, energetic, and hardworking way that the course participants have reacted to the challenges, variety and depth of the course and its modules. They’ve covered drawing, and research through to photography, printmaking, mixed media, and book work. Fundamentally they have been encouraged to find their own voice, take risks, and value the exploratory stage as much as the end result.
It’s been an honour and a delight to witness the emergence of ideas and the connected exploration (via our social forums). I’ve been fascinated by the breadth of subject matter that has formed the springboard to their ongoing work, partly presented in this book. For instance, interests in landscapes; both rural and industrial, environmental interests or domestic dwellings and settlements. Also, more conceptual influences such as narratives about ‘fleeting moments’ or exploring the tensions between 2 opposing forces. The next few pages of this book will provide a sneak peek and a glimpse at their discoveries, the mixed media work they have achieved and the concepts that have driven their work. I am so pleased with what my students on this course have achieved and I am excited to see what they create next. I hope you enjoy looking at this work as much as I have.
Sally Tyrie
