A full-sized African elephant, stalactites and stalagmites, unidentified rising objects and plastic boxes filled with imaginary somethings are all part of Optic.
This is the farewell graduate exhibition for the Bachelor of Visual Arts at WITT, which opens in the revamped F Block on Friday and runs until November 30.
After eight years of delivery, the degree course is going out with a big finale.
Arts senior academic Ian Clothier says 8 of the 16 students in Optic have works that are two metres or higher.
“They have reached to great heights. We have made this great space for exhibiting and the students have responded by producing large-scale works,” Ian says.
“There are 16, so it’s not appropriate for all the work to be large, but the sheer creativity is wonderful to behold.”
There are two other graduation exhibitions opening on Friday. Exit 8, is the Diploma in Creative Technologies show being held in F2 and Proof, work by Certificate in Photography students will, be on display in the new F block corridor gallery.
Visitors to the final BVA show will see work by graduates who have specialised in graphic design, computer graphics or fine arts.
Jacqueline Mann, who has majored in the latter, has three sculptures in Optic. “I’m making a bit of drama out of these objects that would be hidden in their own environment.”
She has used coloured pipes and tape to build one work, employed blue plastic and rope to cover another, while the third looks like a giant children’s building game made from her old horse corral. “I used to tether my horse on those planks.”
There’s also a bit of her dad in these works. “My father is an electrician, so I had quite a bit of electrical tape to use and bind them up with.”
These works are what Jacqueline calls uncertain objects.
Fine arts graduate Carmen Rogers has created aqua-coloured stalagmites and stalactites from repurposed polystyrene used to pack appliances. She has melted down three skiploads of polystyrene and formed the dripping shapes with a spoon and knife.
“It’s amazing how much stuff a small appliance store goes through in a week. I have been collecting it and I couldn’t use it all.”
Graduate Beth MacKenzie stunned her tutors when she announced that she wanted to make a full-sized African elephant out of corrugated cardboard and glue.
Armed with a hot glue gun, she has fulfilled her wild dreams and more. As well as the elephant, she has also made a series of hippos.
“What got me into it was that I taught myself taxidermy last year. I was only working with small-sized birds,” Beth says.
“All the elements to me are still taxidermy. It’s those connections with the animals and bringing them back to life.”
Last week, before finishing her sculptures, Beth had already used 4 kilos of hot glue on the project she began nearly three months ago.
“It’s a wonderful example of someone who’s stuck to their guns and done what they have said they are going to do,” Ian says.
Fine arts graduate Candra Thomson has been painting paper bags in various gold tones, using them to wrap something unknown and placing them in 210 plastic boxes.
These will hang from the ceiling.
Photography tutor Chris Hill says people will have to walk through the Proof exhibition to get to the other shows.
If they linger in the corridor gallery they will see images from eight students, who cover a variety of styles.
There is the same number of students graduating from the Diploma in Creative Technologies, hence the name Exit 8.