Amy Crawford

Amy Crawford's work was inspired by working with people with dementia. The laser etchings were incredibly beautiful and glowing with light. These panels interacted beautifully with the quotes on the walls, each other and the people viewing the exhibition. This layering of surface, word and environment was a visual poetry and perfect for the delicacy of human memory that it was representing.

“I Used To Be Like You A Long Time Ago” Mrs I, Dementia Sufferer 2016

"My work explores different aspects of the human condition - I aim to take these intangible concepts and transform them into accessible images through photographic manipulation and modern techniques. Using pressed flowers from the University of Dundee Herbarium Collection I have created laser etchings inspired by Dr Aloysius Alzheimer’s initial illustrations of dementia. I drew parallels between these collections and the disease, both trapped in a moment in time. Altered yet still beautiful." Amy Crawford.

Emily Watson

Portraiture offers a unique opportunity to explore both personal connections and more abstract aesthetic concerns. The subject matter has always been important to me: I like to capture people I know on a personal level. It excites me to photograph and paint close friends and family members as opposed to strangers because I can capture a likeness and an individual's personality better this way. I chose to photograph my friend's band Ayakara when they came up to Dundee for their first gig on their recent tour. I asked them to stand in front of a wall of graffiti which would allow me to paint more abstract shapes in the background. I also choose to use very vibrant colours to represent the Indie, psychedelic scene these people are associated with. I wanted to capture them in their prime, in the midst of their growing success as a band - self-conscious figures about to go head first into an unknown, but possibly exciting future. I like to work with loose abstract styles whilst also using realism in the figure to contrast. Emily Watson

Cat Hills

Cat Hills graduation show at Dundee featured monsters drawn and made large as textile sculptures occupying space and encouraging you to use them for comfort.

As a child, my fears and feelings materialised into monsters of a purely imaginative nature. I drew creatures with sharp teeth and long claws to make sense of the darkness under my bed or the bump in the night. Revisiting this, my interest now lies within the therapeutic value of drawing. More specifically, how mental monsters help to depict an emotional state and well being. I work through sketches and sculpture to make sense of this intangible topic, addressing the realities of something which, as we grow older, can become the monsters we imagined as children. Cat Hills

Angie Peat

Angie Peat's graduation show from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. Angie's work was a technicolor circus of  culture, the rioting ear fluff of humanity bottled, framed and automated.

Elise Bell

"Stick the kettle on eh. 
A hint of Zappa and The Mothers, but with hearing aids and falsers. The band is from the mining towns of Levenmouth, Fife - home to the Methil dockyard, Leven beach and several supermarkets, including an Aldi.
Baffies at the ready, they're set to head on their 2017 tour, surrounded by their home comforts – an armchair, a teapot and countless objects found abundantly in pensioners' homes. Coming to a town near you..."  Elise Bell

Elise Bell mixed domestic objects associated with her grandmothers, with hand built ceramics and illustrated posters for her fictional band, 'The Grandmothers of Methil', evoking the love of home, extended family, inherited culture and nostalgia, tinged with dark humour and wit.

Kate Polley

Matchbox theatres made by Kate Polley graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, that allow you to create tiny animations with a roll of illustration.

"I had the idea to deconstruct and object, and reconstruct it in a completely different way. I went on to create a series of miniature theatre shows inside matchboxes, made using the original materials provided by the matchbox. The three pictured below are ‘An Evening at the Ballet’, ‘An Evening at the Circus’, and ‘An Evening of Magic.’ By winding the matchbox, using the matches, the theatre presents it’s show." Kate Polley

Hannah George

This is part of Hannah George's degree show at Dundee's 'Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design'. Hannah has graduated in Jewellery and Metal Design. Her work has for her final year been exploring porcelain, enjoying its plasticity and its infuriating unpredictability as a medium.
Hannah's work has also been a scream at the current state of society and the place and status of the woman and the continuing battle for equality, collaging black and white images from recent protests with her bright pink and blue ceramic forms her work shouted out and was heard.

 "My main inspiration behind the theme was the comments made by Donald Trump about women over the years. It really made me think about how a person in a position of power could have such an effect on not only women but the world. His comments even provoked marches worldwide and sparked so much debate between people. I was really effected by his Presidential win as I felt it was a step back for society and a step back for the women’s rights movement. To me it felt like the world was saying that it was OK to talk about women and people in a downgrading manner."

"My final pieces are all about saying that the media can have their opinions about a woman’s appearance but we will fight back and we will not conform to a society of sexist ideologies. The distorted bobble head characters are all about beauty standards and there unrealistic ideas of the female face and body. The large cherry red lips are a symbolise of sexualising women. I have also chosen a colour palette of baby pink and blue to symbolise men and women both having opinions of the way in which a women should look. The collage is all about female empowerment and the impact of the women’s rights movements over the decades." Hannah George    

Isla Rustrick

Inspired by Iris Apfel, Isla Rustrick has created some beautiful illustrations of this fashion icon and a fabulous concertina book. Isla has graduated from Dundee's Duncan in textile design.

"In response to our excessive consumer culture, my collection focuses on emotionally durable knitwear, targeting women over the age of 40. Fashion icon, Iris Apfel, was quoted saying “I enjoy the thrill of the chase, the discovery and the endless search”. After considering how our elders once purchased clothing, I discovered a distinction between style and fashion. Aged 78, Lynn Dell, declares “My philosophy of fashion says ‘me too’ while style says ‘only me’” when featuring in “Advanced Style”, a documentation of flamboyant seniors. My research revealed that ‘exuberance’ is essential in choosing a timeless garment." Isla Rustrick