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Memory Exhibition - The Open College of the Arts

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Memory Exhibition

CaptureIt was back in September last year that fellow student, John Umney, first mooted the idea of an exhibition. Seemed like a splendid idea. Yes I’ll help, I responded, thinking it was ages away…loads of time to get our act together. Fast forward nine, very fast, months, to this coming Saturday, 2 May, and our exhibition, entitled Memory, launches at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital in Oxford.
There are forty-nine images, featuring seven final level students who are studying photography with the Open College of Arts. Together-remotely, or with remote togetherness, (something we’re all mastering whilst with the OCA), from across the UK, and Europe, we have interrogated the notion of Memory, with surprising and diverse results.
John Umney, says, ‘Photographers approach a scene from perspectives unique to themselves. All seven of us have brought our own understanding to the idea of remembering in to a visual form. It is impossible for us to predict what each person who looks at them will see and remember, and we would not wish to predict’.
As those of you who have put together an exhibition will know, much brainstorming, planning, preparing, collating, framing, fundraising, and cursing goes on to bring a show like this together. Did I say cursing? I meant curating…although John you would be forgiven if the odd profanity escaped, having patiently framed forty-nine of our prints. I know mine for one, were probably responsible for one or two.
The process of putting together an exhibition has been a rewarding learning curve for John and myself. With the financial cushioning of the OCA, it has enabled us to cut our teeth on what would otherwise have been an overwhelming task. Gareth Dent said: ‘The Nuffield is hosting the first ever public exhibition of student work organised by the students themselves. Having followed the development of the exhibition over the last few months, I understand much better than before how we underplay the benefits the arts and creativity bring to health’.
It seems to be a win-win all round. As well as enhancing the environment in which patients and visitors find themselves, it allows the students to build confidence in the process of showing their work. It is particularly relevant now before embarking on the final level three module, Sustaining Your Practice, which perhaps is the most daunting of all! Throughout our study, we focus so much on making interesting work, that we often don’t look up to consider who might want to look at it. Finding potential punters for our work is all too easy to forget. Yet it takes a viewer to breathe life in to our images and when we loosen the constraints of our images, set them free from their digital folder, the real world with real viewers, could be quite a thrill!
Gwyneth Paltrow may have ruined the ‘couldn’t have done it without you’ cliche, spare the tears, it goes without saying, ‘we couldn’t either’. It was a team effort. Starting with John for extending this opportunity to fellow OCA students, to Tom Cox of Artscape for facilitating the space at the Nuffield, to Gareth and the team at the OCA for whole-heartedly supporting us, to the exhibiting students and lest I forget, all those lovely people who will view the exhibition. So maybe we should all keep a look-out for potential venues, pool together resources and ideas, and aim to showcase more OCA student work…seems like a splendid idea!
Penny Watson is an OCA level three photography student. Memory runs at the Nuffield Othopaedic Hospital, Oxford from 2 May to 30 June. A study visit is being planned for June (details to follow). A PDF of the exhibition brochure is available to download here and a floor plan can be downloaded here.


Posted by author: Penny

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