Orkney College, Kirkwall, 7-15 June 2006

Stone and wool necklace by Julie Marwick. (Photo -Clare Gee)

THE PREVIEW for the annual exhibition by Orkney College’s art and design courses was a busy affair. Lots of people bustling around the displays, and lots of students who were rightly very proud of their work, their efforts and the development they have made in the last year.

The preview is an incredibly important part of the process of creating an exhibition. For the artists it is a mix of panic and celebration. Waiting to see how the work is received can be horrendous, but there is also an opportunity to celebrate and relax after the pressure of making, choosing, mounting and displaying the work.

It is a stranger experience for a visitor. You go with the intention of viewing the artwork, but in reality, the atmosphere and environment of a preview is the worst possible for actually seeing the work. You socialise, attempt to balance a glass of wine and shake hands at the same time, and when you do look at the artwork, you glance at it through, round, and over the heads of other people.

I came away from this preview with a general feeling that, although varied, there was some strong work this year.

It was great to be asked to write this review as it gave me an opportunity to go back to a calm and tranquil sunlit studio to spend a good amount of time, look properly, delve into sketchbooks and discover the real gems.

And there are plenty of gems to be seen. I use the word ‘gem’ very specifically as most of the pieces I felt to be particularly strong, or beautiful, or made me think, were the smallest – rather than the big, bold or ‘finished’ pieces.

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I am really excited to think how they might develop in the future. There are some really exciting pieces of work about to be made, I reckon

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I know from my own dim and distant experience of pursuing a visual art education that I often approached small studies and sketches as an opportunity to play, to take risks and test out different approaches to a subject, whereas the large canvas or piece of paper required a reverence, and a seriousness, which often made my work at that scale, and at that time, pretty dull.

I am not saying that is the case here by any means – there are some excellent larger scale pieces, particularly the life drawing by Julie Marwick in the exhibition area next to the Art and Design Office (fantastically strong feet), and Dean Adams drawing of a huge head with coloured inks. Look out for Julie’s fantastically designed wool and stone necklaces too – fab.

Ingrid Garrioch has created a number of small scale white sculptural wall pieces which held me spellbound. One in particular, like a small bride’s posy in predominantly white papers and card, it had an uncomfortable edge to it – I think it is the ribbon, like something out of Great Expectations, like a posy that Miss Haversham would carry, and at the same time it felt like it belonged in a hospital, quite clinical and unemotional. I loved these pieces – so quiet and calm, yet so powerful and edgy.

Two sets of work, Helen Budge’s sketch paintings with ink and bleach which you will find in her sketchbook, and three tiny watercolours by Marielle Thomson, really struck me. Helen’s letterbox shaped landscapes are full of the energy and passion of the weather, and Marielle’s are the opposite – calm, almost misty. Both say huge amounts about the Orkney landscape and weather in a tiny amount of space with few brushstrokes. Less does definitely mean more here.

Again, following the theme of quiet and calm imagery, Johan Thomson’s kindly and sensitive photographic portraits kept me engrossed for some time. The black and white photographs work particularly well – close-up’s of hands with a long history. There is a real sense of connection and warmth between the sitter and the photographer.

Gavin Sutherland’s black and white photographs are also striking in a quiet way.

If there is a theme to this work, it is that none of it has an ego. The artists are confident enough in their skills to let the work speak for itself, rather than use shock tactics or hugely powerful imagery to grab our attention.

As usual, the textile work displayed is of an exceptional quality. I was particularly impressed with the displays by students on the Introduction to Design and Textiles course – there is a consistency to the quality which is most impressive. Again I particularly liked the smaller, or test, pieces such as Allison Dixon’s and Dorothy Mayes’ small studies incorporating machine embroidery.

Rowenna Wilcox demonstrated very clearly how much she had gained from her work experience at Tait and Style, with an extremely professional display. Other students have also benefited from these opportunities to immerse themselves in a work environment – Jason Scott at Sutherlands, learning about photographic processing, Jade Miller at Sheila Fleet, Peter Thomas’s framing skills are on display from his stint at We Frame It, and Annie Glue’s silver necklace, which she took right through from the design stage to manufacture. The benefits are there to be seen, and it is great to see such productive and challenging experiences being offered by Orkney’s creative businesses.

As a student show should (and try saying that after a glass of wine at a preview!), it combines a wide range of visual art – fine art, I suppose, and photography, alongside design based work, jewellery and textiles.

These students haven’t necessarily had a chance yet to really immerse themselves in their chosen areas as they are rightly covering all sorts of disciplines and coming up with an eclectic range of ideas. Having said that, I am really excited to think how they might develop in the future.

There are some really exciting pieces of work about to be made, I reckon. Oh – and I forgot the cushions. I don’t think my settee is big enough for all of them, but I’d have a hard time choosing – a fantastic demonstration of how to put colour and texture together and make me want pretty much every one!

© Clare Gee, 2006

The exhibition is open daily from 9am-8pm, Saturday 10am-5pm and Friday, June 16, 9am-1pm