To accompany this year's submissions Source has asked a number of respected figures from
the world of photography to select their favourite sets of images from all the work submitted.
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Special Guest Selection by: Malcolm Dickson Gallery Director at Street Level Photoworks Overview: It was a lengthier endeavour than I imagined at first, but a privilege to be able to get a fairly good overview of the photography and fine art degree courses across the UK and Ireland. I regularly visit the degree exhibitions at the Scottish art schools, colleges and Universities, as part of a selection process for our exhibition slot of new talent: 'Futureproof' - the Source Graduate Online platform provides a panoramic snapshot across these islands thereby giving some indication of the identifiable characteristics of those institutions embracing the photographic medium. Some residing impressions remain of that bigger picture, reinforcing the old adage of photography being a window on the world as well as an eye into the soul. Work by women image-makers was predominant - sensitive explorations of private spaces; across both genders a leaning to the melancholic, with loss (of place, someone, or of memory), dislocation and yearning being a strong theme. Central and Eastern European focussed work was noticeable, and that exploring specific cultures, communities and traditions. Some graduates honed in on their own cultural upbringing to reinforce the fact that you don't have to travel the world to get good subject matter. Surprisingly, there was a lack of conceptually driven work, in general, but there are a few of note. As is the case in the wider sector, more evidence of alternative photographic processes reinforced the thirst for the analogue and more tactile approaches, though these result in largely similar outputs, though some notable approaches combing subject matter and process were refreshing exceptions. |
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Glasgow School of Art - BA (Hons) Communication Design (Photography)
Selector's Comment: 'Universal Sympathy' takes a fairly imaginative approach to combining the 'alternative process' of photograms with that of an unusual excavation of the Artist's family history - in these he scatters his Grandfather's cremated ashes onto the photo paper to make large scale and captivating works. It deals with the big themes of death and the universe in a quirky, yet solemn, and calmly considered way, 'reconnecting the remains of the dead with the origin of all life' in a fine presentation which works coherently as a whole. |
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London College of Communication - BA (Hons) Photography
Selector's Comment: 'Blue Is The Colour Of Sundays' is a poetic and impressionist study of a domestic space - not the familiar and safe place of home, but of a new abode when a young person finds themselves displaced from their place of upbringing, and all the associations of that. It's shot within the confines of the Artist's flat or bedsit and hones in on details and material that embody loneliness, boredom, and agoraphobia. But the images are not unsettling - there's a calmness to the seemingly random selection that makes you want to see more in a book format. |
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UCA Rochester - BA (Hons) Photography
Selector's Comment: An intriguing photo series exploring Bosnia's post-war era predicament. It captures both the crumbling aftermath of war and conflict, alongside idyllic landscapes and rural scenes. It's not the conventional post war photo essay, however. There is great poignancy in each image, all shot with 5x4 as a conscious choice stopping, looking, and deciding, in more detail. As he puts it more saliently himself: 'By turning the camera away from the people and current happenings, I will photograph slow, quiet imagery, mimicking Bosnia's slow and quiet progression since the war'. Set within the images, is the troubling fact that the divisions that caused so much devastation are far from concluded, with an unknown future held back by an unresolved past. The metaphorical title of his series is 'Firn', which is a name to describe the state of snow, which is yet to become ice, or ice that is not fully melted. |
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Ulster University - BA (Hons) Photography
Selector's Comment: Gerarda McGlone's 'Feud' reflects on the Artist's upbringing in rural Tyrone. It is a series of portraits of her neighbours from the area, all composed in their homes at night and with a spotlight shone on them. It refers to the quaint associations of rural or small town life, one of support, kindness, sociability, but implies that this façade of geniality conceals less friendly traits. The use of the stark spotlight, with the subjects caught in the headlights as it were, is something of an ironic reference to the fact that the rural place of her background is bereft of streetlights, thereby keeping much 'in the dark'. A quirky take on portraiture. |
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Leeds College of Art - BA (Hons) Photography
Selector's Comment: Ettie Wyatt Gosebruch's series is composed of close ups of buildings, the nature of which is unknown - some may be council houses, some industrial or office buildings, community centres, with echoes of brutalist architecture. The ambiguity is amplified by the fact that some are composite images, though you would be challenged to identify which. There is good composition and use of colour in these images, verging on the abstract, and as a result they stood out stylistically. |
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Edinburgh College of Art - BA (Hons) Photography
Selector's Comment: Cora James's work 'Kaleidoscope' is a seemingly free association of images capturing details, forms, colours and patterns in the everyday and the banal. It's not entirely random however, as the skill in stealing the images to make the whole requires the keen eye and precision of a good photographer. The selection of a series of works to make the whole, however, is a twin requirement in the process. Articulating purpose in what is otherwise meaninglessness collections of images is addressed well in her statement. Like many other approaches by graduates as a whole, it is one which is formed around the form of the book, 14 of them, separated or identified by colour. |
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Malcolm Dickson is a curator, writer and organizer, and as Director of Street Level Photoworks, he coordinates a programme which embraces different genres of photography in its galleries in the arts hub Trongate 103 in Glasgow. It works to extend the reach of its exhibitions in local and community venues, regional art galleries, and through national and international partners. Recent projects include 'Maud Sulter - Passion', 'Working the Border' for Carlisle Photo Festival, 'Common Ground: New Documentary Photography from Scotland and Wales' featuring Document Scotland and A Fine Beginning photography collectives; 'Digital Play; Wendy McMurdo, Collected Works (1995- 2012)'. In 2008 he initiated 'Futureproof', an annual exhibition showcase of new talent from the Scottish art schools and colleges, and has been a partner in the Jill Todd Photographic Award for the past two years. Street Level are currently co-organising a Season of Photography which links a diverse series of exhibitions and events around photography across Scotland which runs until September 2015. |
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