As graduation approaches in June, art schools at home and abroad have launched graduation season exhibitions with different themes. As the fashion shrine of Central Saint Martin, their graduation exhibition is like a large design week for dialogue with industry and the public. On May 21, the graduation exhibition with the theme of "Show Two: Design" officially opened! Now, Mr. Gao from Natural Light UK Campus will lead you to visit the graduation exhibition of St. Martin, and see what works can inspire you!
This wonderful performance was presented by graduates from more than 20 different design majors, not only in a variety of interactive display ways, but also in the presence of MullenLowe Group, which selected 10 creative works from 1300 graduation works nominated for the annual NOVA Awards!
What works of Saint Martin Graduation Exhibition inspired you to apply for in 2020?
For us, to participate in the art exhibitions of top universities abroad can not only draw inspiration from the most outstanding works, but also serve as an excellent opportunity to investigate universities and understand the training direction. However, there are not many opportunities because of the long journey and high cost. Therefore, natural light has brought you the experience of "online exhibition viewing" this time! Come into St. Martin with Natural Light UK Campus and start a graduation exhibition tour! The team leader of this exhibition graduated from Central St Martins Miss Gao, our sister. She will lead us to watch the exhibition together from the dual identity of professional teacher+sister!
I participated in the second show of the Central Saint Martin Graduation Exhibition Show 2: Design theme, which exhibited the works of students from more than 20 design disciplines of Saint Martin, including clothing, jewelry, animation, new media majors, etc., in a variety of forms. The whole campus is an exhibition hall, and art is happening in every corner of the campus.
In addition to appreciating the students' works, I came to the graduation exhibition with another purpose, which is to analyze the five graduation works selected for the annual MullenLowe NOVA Award. These nominated works are mainly from five majors - jewelry, clothing, graphic design, product design and architecture. This award also represents the highest level of this graduate, It is very referential for students.
First, let's introduce the MullenLowe NOVA Award!
About MullenLowe NOVA
This award was founded by MullenLowe Group, a world-famous communication company, and this year is the ninth. They believe that the graduation exhibition of Central Saint Martin is a stage to experience creativity in the purest form. In order to commend these outstanding design works, they have united the world's most outstanding designers and enterprises, such as Unilever, AAR, Creative Review, etc.
The purpose is to select the most meaningful works for human society among the current Saint Martin graduates, provide a broader platform for these students, and have the opportunity to expand their talents beyond the educational environment. The value of this award is very high. Whether it is the position or cash award provided by the sponsor or the reputation in the design industry, it is a great appreciation for students. Most of the previous winners have become well-known designers in the industry.
From the overall list of nominations for MullenLowe NOVA Awards, we are very happy to see the names of many Chinese students:
01. Thinking about mechanization
Designer: Mael Heniff
Major: MA Material Futures
Mael Henoff is a graduate of the future materials major. He has always been concerned about how automation under the new technology affects communities across the UK. Therefore, he went to the poorest area in England - Jaywick, Essex Coast, to investigate poverty and the impact of automation on local industry.
During the interview with local workers, Henoff heard about the unemployment problem in new technology industries from automobile manufacturing to retail. In the contemporary society, there are many controversies about the replacement of artificial labor by new technology. Henoff believes that the progress of science and technology will always have more advantages than disadvantages for mankind, so he decides to use new technology to provide more benefits for unemployed employees.
He worked with local workers to design and manufacture a machine that can float on the sea, which can use tidal kinetic energy to mine cryptocurrency. Henoff also made the whole experiment process into a documentary, and hoped to prove that artificial intelligence and machines are just tools that can be used to benefit enterprises and social welfare.
02、Bio Iridescent Sequin
Designer: Elissa Brunato
Major: MA Material Futures
In the fashion industry, more and more attention has been paid to environmental protection. For example, all major luxury brands have issued statements prohibiting rare animal skins. Elissa Brunato, as a student of future materials, also wants to break some restrictions for clothing fabrics.
She found that most of the fabric's sequins were made of plastic or synthetic resin. Their use and disposal have brought about huge environmental problems, and to a large extent, they have caused the garbage problem that the earth is currently facing, because these tiny plastic components cannot be found by everyone, and accurate garbage classification has been carried out, thus being buried and polluting our environment again.
Elissa Brunato developed a solution by using biotechnology. Elissa Brunato cooperated with the material scientists from RISE Research Institute to create a "new sequin", ingeniously using the ability of resin in wood to refract light to create a flickering color structure.
The machine developed by her has also received the attention of many enterprises at the graduation exhibition site, and is expected to be mass produced.
03、Minh Le Pham
Designers: Yoko Ono, Wes Anderson
Major: BA Architecture
This is a set of architectural graduation works, but at the exhibition site, I was shocked by the excellent visual expression of students, both from the layout, color matching are very excellent. There are two programs in this set of works, both co created by Oko Ono and Wes Anderson, which are immersion theater and plastic recycling center.
Fantastic Mr.Plastic：
This building, which looks like a fairy tale castle, is called "Mr. Magic Plastic". The author believes that plastic has become a symbol of pollution. Plastic, with its persistent and incorruptible performance, means that it will eventually pollute the land or the sea. So they decided to reconsider the reuse of plastics.
This building is equivalent to a museum of plastic. Since they collected plastic in a high-density compression way, although our current technology has not yet thought of the reuse of plastic, the traditional method of plastic landfill will only cause land pollution. We can store the plastic first and leave it to future generations to think about solutions, This earth is not just our home.
Le Brixton Garbage Therapy：
The design of this theater was inspired by Yoko Ono, who used art to raise people's attention to political and social issues. In response, they came up with some methods that can really affect the garbage problem to the psychological level of people.
Le Brixton Garbage Therapy is an immersive theater where the public can watch stories about garbage. People can bring waste and see every process of decomposing it. Plastic has become the protagonist of the stage, and we are the performers. For example, there is a bottle planetarium, and the audience is invited to play a piece of garbage. They can imagine that from the date of its production, to its use, to its abandonment, and finally to find themselves squeezed into the garbage heap and buried. What this discomfort brings to everyone is the key to improving environmental awareness.
04. Sustainable materials of clothing
Designer: Cecily Cracroft Eley
Major: BA Fashion Knitwear
Previously, Kawakubaling said in an interview that she believes that the current fashion has been at a standstill, regardless of the material or style is just blindly imitating the past. This is very enlightening for Cecily Cracroft Eley. Her clothing work ETAKA series is also a tribute to the design principles of Japanese wabi sabi.
The materials of this clothing series are completely made of recycled and natural elements, and are all handmade by students themselves and local Ugandan women workers. Cecily Cracroft Eley believes that the fashion of today lacks precipitation, and the popularity of various media and social tools makes the clothing style update too fast.
The designer lived in Uganda for a period of time, and what impressed her most was the purest color from the earth. This primitive power was enough to calm every impetuous heart. She also put this color into this set of works, hoping to awaken people's initial respect for fashion through this production method and material.
05. Participatory device
Designer: Diane Dwyer
Major: MA Narrative Environments
The inspiration for this device comes from a book - [Abandoned Grace], which tells the story of the protagonist Grace and her mother's resistance after the unfair treatment they received in the traditional patriarchal society.
This book has a great impact on Diane Dwyer when she was growing up. She knows that women are not easy in society. This device was placed by her in an abandoned house near Hampton Palace. The symbol on it represents the question from the heart of female residents who used to live in this area - "What ambitions, regrets, achievements, fears, hopes might we have?"
The cloth used is a traditional shirt for men. The purpose of this creation is to let viewers understand the representative problems that have occurred in history, as well as the impact of gender inequality on society.
These are the five works that I sorted out and were nominated by the MullenLowe NOVA Award. The St. Martin Graduation Exhibition can most directly reflect the teaching characteristics, work style and development direction of this university. What collection of works did Saint Martin Graduation Exhibition bring to you for your application? What I felt at the graduation exhibition site that day was the artistic atmosphere of Central Saint Martin's unique creativity. From the perspective of students' works, there was a trend that the boundaries of the design profession seemed increasingly blurred, and every student was trying to use interdisciplinary ideas to explore a variety of topics.
Natural light shares more topics for you:
How to research the collection of works? It is important to combine theory with practice
Central Saint Martin College tuition/scholarship/application requirements, is it difficult to apply for CSM
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