Arts / Fine Art degree show goes online
SHETLAND College’s first Fine Art degree exhibition is being held online, with people from around the world able to view the work of three new graduates.
Gemma Hoseason, Tracey Cassidy and Sean Boyle all have art on display in a virtual exhibition space.
They are the first round of graduates from the BA (Hons) Fine Art degree course in Shetland.
Hoseason is exhibiting a series of personal, highly charged self-portrait photographs which covey her feelings of isolation.
Having had to shield during the initial Covid-19 pandemic, she used her own experience to produce the images which in turn also helped her gain solace from the sense of melancholia she felt during lockdown.
Tracey Cassidy is showcasing a series of oil paintings that are deeply rooted in her now derelict generational family home, The Faine.
Tracey started with an image of her grandmother – the last person to live in the house – and revisited in various seasons and times of day to produce emotion-laden paintings that explore memory and deep connections to home.
Celebrating Shetland dialect in her writings about the paintings she said: “Wir fok ir bidn on da saam laand fir mony generations and it hadds coontless stories.
“As I waak da saam laand my ancestors waaked, my imagination is ignited we a sense o da past, reverberations o baith sadness n joy. Da Fain wis da hame o my Great Grandmidder Lily, whas presence I can still feel echoed in da waas n da laand in a powerful spiritual connection.
“Though da hoose lies noo in decay, dis paintins survive as traces. Treeds o memory dat bring da past in tae da present”.
Sean Boyle has fused large scale woodcut printmaking with oil painting to produce a series of large pieces.
Reflecting on his work, he said: “It is an attempt to both reveal and conceal my personality by combining relief carving and oil painting to create a picture within a picture, where mundanity is obscured by the fantastical.”
Shetland College fine art lecturer Paul Bloomer said: “We are delighted to be the newest partner to deliver the BA (Hons) Fine Art degree.
“This is our first round of graduates and the students have found themselves in difficult circumstances due to the ongoing Covid 19 restrictions. They have had to face additional pressures and constraints which meant that the initial plans for their degree shows had to be rethought. “
“Each have risen admirably to the challenge and have produced diverse and interesting artwork that is the culmination of four years very hard work.”
The online degree show, which features contributions from fine art students across the Highlands and Islands, can be viewed online here.
Become a supporter of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider start paying for their dose of the latest local news delivered straight to their PC, tablet or mobile phone.
Journalism comes at a price and because that price is not being paid in today’s rapidly changing media world, most publishers - national and local - struggle financially despite very healthy audience figures.
Most online publishers have started charging for access to their websites, others have chosen a different route. Shetland News currently has over 600 supporters who are all making small voluntary financial contributions. All funds go towards covering our cost and improving the service further.
Your contribution will ensure Shetland News can: -
- Bring you the headlines as they happen;
- Stay editorially independent;
- Give a voice to the community;
- Grow site traffic further;
- Research and publish more in-depth news, including more Shetland Lives features.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a supporter of Shetland News by either making a single payment or monthly subscription.
Support us from as little as £3 per month – it only takes a minute to sign up. Thank you.
Already a supporter? Sign in to hide this message.
