In 2010, five students graduated in Fine Art from Newcastle

University, this exhibition is their first opportunity to show the

south east what their future might be. The exhibition is a mixture

of installation, sculpture and printmaking, inviting viewers to

explore a range of contemporary work, proving that conceptual

art can still be approachable.

Thursday 3rd February to Saturday 5th March 2011

Visitors welcome without appointment: Wednesday - Friday

2.30pm - 5.30pm and Saturday 10.30am - 5.30pm.

Other times by appointment.

See "Merriecroft" page for further information on the location of

the venue and visit You Tube to see a video tour of the

exhibition for a "taster" before you come.

Violet Bennell:

Grows sugar crystals in a variety of forms including in laboratory

glassware; where the crystals creep over the warning words of

quotes from apocalyptic literature. Texts include: The Crystal

World, The Road, Day of The Triffids and 1984.

Holly Watson:

My practice is an exploration into materials and creation through

destruction with the natural environment being a key influence. I

consider these aspects through sculpture whether it is slick

black oil penetrating crisp white plaster, deflated forms fixed with

a solid medium or helium gas suspending objects that in time

will float down when gravity has taken its toll.

Josie Dick:

My ideas and work have constantly been involved in mark-

making and the drawing process.  I have become

increasingly engaged in creating drawings that are focused on

form and the space they inhabit.  I am interested in installing

materials in certain ways to create something that I feel is a

drawing. 

Becky Manning:

Inspired by pictures of cancer cells, the playful creations invade

areas, each pompom with their own personalities. Made from

household materials such as binbags, jay-cloths these artworks

contrast between the everyday and surreal.

Shona Macpherson:

Drawing is the medium through which I explore themes of flow

and transience, materiality and solidity. I am interested in line

and paper in its simplest forms as a means of mapping a trace.