Less Common More Sense

Turning Things Inside Out: Graduate Shows at LCC

Turning Things Inside Out: Graduate Shows at LCC
Text and photography by Xanthia Hallissey

ROUND ABOUT is a four-part exhibition showcasing the work of graduating students from LCC.

Phase two is called INSIDE OUT, the first of the graduate shows (after WIDE OPEN for Foundation Art & Design students). It features work from five different courses Book Arts & Design, Film and Television, Photography, Photojournalism and Sound Arts & Design, which kicked off on Thursday 2nd June 2011 with the private view.

In true ROUND ABOUT style LCC was full of visitors walking around hoping to catch a glimpse of the next big thing. Students did not disappoint, the range of media used was impressive, the variety of subject matter even more so. The Photojournalism students were especially good in this sense. Natalie Naccache’s photographs make a social comment about the much-unpublicised plight of ‘Single Fathers’. Her exhibit was reminiscent of the home itself, using different sized frames and a cloth covered table presenting the single father home as a different kind of normal. Rather than documenting humans, Lucie Jordanna Cohen decided to document the sky at night in her astronomy series, ‘A Space in Time’. Lucie juxtaposes the touchable, man-made elements of Earth (brick, artificial light, parked cars) with that which is entirely out of reach (moon, stars) to create an otherworldly experience full of tension, but simultaneously peaceful.

Little pocketed rooms throughout INSIDE OUT ensure the exhibition is full of surprises. One Space is dedicated to Su Lin Booker’s ‘Recorded Fragments,’ which uses projected imagery and mirrors to fragment a family photograph. As well as showing a disrupted, evolving image separate audio tracks are strategically placed around the room allowing the viewer to hear the voices behind the family experience. It’s a clever device that lends itself well to the separate-togetherness of family, and there is a beauty to it too.

Another individual room holds Sophie Hall’s ‘When Eyes Touch’, where two women are shown on screens apparently naked and staring at eye to eye, an experiment in trust and not looking down. The set up of the room makes the piece more powerful; the screens are placed on opposite walls allowing the viewer to turn from screen to screen wondering who will break first. Across from Sophie’s work lies a purpose built person sized gazebo tent by Marianna Kaye called ‘Joanna’s Story’. Inside viewers are encouraged to sit, listen to the story and watch changing light projections of planets play out, literally bringing the story to life.

The use of different media in the exhibition is expansive. On the theme of identity, Christian Anderson’s ‘Blackness Confirmed’ stacks up different sized televisions relating to parts of the face, and they change constantly. It’s a positive, affirmative statement about equality, and it’s fun to watch too. Jatinder Kailey’s ‘Exoticism Constructed: From Southall To Punjab’ uses a painted background of a distant land and shows it pinned up in more familiar surroundings. Jatinder explores the storytelling element in understanding her own Indian heritage, and tells that story back to the viewer.

As well as installation projects, INSIDE OUT is full of more traditional approaches to media. Constantin Cerdan’s ‘Channel 951’ is a series of three photographs each with a little something missing, for example the central image of a sofa has a cushion missing. It challenges what we think we know and asks the viewer to look twice. Jessica Smith’s laser cut type in Book Design tells a story in an open and transparent way, so it makes sense to see it on a wall and not closed in a book instead.

Back in Photojournalism Hannah Boatfield took a trip to different artists studios in her exploration of  ‘Artworlds’, it is project that looks at individual expression and command of a space. Essentially, that is what INSIDE OUT is all about, it’s a show giving students the chance to show viewers what they’ve been up to, but more than that it’s about turning perceived notions of art and design INSIDE OUT.

Artists with websites:
Natalie Naccache: http://www.natnacphotography.com/
Lucie Jordanna Cohen: http://www.luciejordanna.com
Hannah Boatfield: http://www.hannahboatfield.com
Marianna Kaye: http://www.mariannakaye.com

Inside Out
BA (Hons) Book Arts & Design
BA (Hons) Film & Television
BA (Hons) Photography
BA (Hons) Photojournalism
BA (Hons) Sound Arts & Design

The exhibition was open to the public: Fri 3 – Wed 8 June 2011
Venue: The Gallery, Upper Street, Lower Street, Well and Atrium Galleries, LCC, Elephant & Castle, London, SE1 6SB

LCC Summer shows run until 8th July. For more information please check the events page.