GSA Degree Show: MFA

For the graduating class, the GSA MFA Degree Show marks the fulfillment of a transformative two years. On 10 June, under the occasionally leaky roof of Glasgow’s rustic Glue Factory, they will bring out their best. They must, as the stakes are (relatively) high. The art world has its eye on them (or so we often hear).

Visitors can expect to encounter an array of unique and advanced artworks approached from a wide range of methodologies. For example Tim Sandys will unveil a fully-functional catapult designed for targeting civilian aircraft, while Roi Carmeli will present an installation of Dr. Seuss-like logs and wood scraps, and Alex Rathbone will show a variety of contorted metal candleholders and cartoonish airbrushed paintings. In all, twenty-one talented young artists will be offering up their strongest and most developed works.

But after two years of fretting over their ideas, incurring massive debt, and growing large off Glaswegian cuisine, for the graduates what matters most is whether the whole thing was worth it. 

Performance artist Kathryn Ashill’s new work Poster Boy considers the stereotypical fictional male through various depictions of Heathcliff, the brooding hero of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. Ashill’s performance will utilise song, spoken word, and a chorus of Heathcliff’s, nested amongst an installation of props. Performances of Poster Boy will take place at both the opening and closing parties. For Ashill, the most beneficial part of her time with the MFA programme may be in how the school serves as a springboard for community engagement. “Relocating to Glasgow impacted massively on my practice; I was able to establish new bonds that will continue to fuel my ideas,” says Ashill. She describes her time in Glasgow as “a rich community experience.”

Text-based artist John Ryan’s progression within the MFA programme has been more studio oriented. For Ryan, the programme has helped him shift his conceptual frameworks towards text as an “amalgamative medium” through which he feels he can engage in previously inaccessible subjects. His heavily laborious text drawings ground him in his work, providing him with a sense of “satisfaction in the studio.” For the graduation show Ryan will present two new works including eight large text-based drawings and an interactive work involving a pile of tea towels offered to visitors to take home.

Prolific local painter Aimi Ferrier will present a series of new paintings titled Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk. Ferrier, who uses painting as a tool for translating human experience, explains that her new paintings hint at “interiors in domestic spaces, and exteriors… deliberately obscuring, revealing and hiding things that have gone wrong.” Sketching out her ideas dozens of times over, Ferrier employs an obsessive repetitive methodology, which has been bolstered by her time with the MFA programme. For many artists, it is the opportunity for intense reflection that is most beneficial. For Ferrier, the programme has been invaluable in offering her time to reflect and support in understanding her practice. She explains that it has been a slow process “but this slow-ness means I’m present with the work.”

Textile-based artist Katie Schwab has found her time with the MFA programme helpful in expanding her artistic skillset. Schwab now works with video, tapestry, and embroidery. Conceptually she has developed her interest in interiors, design, and furniture, creating works that “prioritize functionality” over form. For the graduation exhibit Schwab will present a series of handmade works, including a tapestry, nesting boxes, and a bench. Expanding on her increasing interest in domestic interiors, Schwab will also be presenting a video that documents a communal living space.

Painter Guo-Lian Tan’s experience with the MFA programme has been a boon to his professional practice, while expanding his understanding of his own work. “The MFA has opened up my practice, allowing me to develop different strands of work and connecting them to a larger pool of ideas,” he explains. Tan’s recent exchange in the Städelschule in Frankfurt yielded great results, whereby he was awarded with the 2015 Antje and Jürgen Conzelmann Prize for his paintings. For the upcoming exhibition Tan will present a video piece and a series of paintings that explore “gesture and surface within the space and language of painting.”

While their time with the MFA programme has impacted them in different ways, there is a clear consensus amongst these graduates that their practice has progressed. For better or for worse, this progression will be on display for all to judge come 10 June. Will it have been worth it? Will they join their Turner Prize winning alumni in art stardom? Will they ever shed that extra ten pounds? Time will tell. For now they will remain focused on the important task at hand.