Review of YSJ's Exhibition: Experience Colour
Words by Amelia Stallworthy
On the 24th of April York St John University had their opening night for their first student-led exhibition titled ‘Experience Colour’, in which each artist created a piece inspired by the colour they were given. It was co-curated by Tilly Jackson, Molly Owen, Faith Noblet, and April Long, and Amelia Stallworthy sat down with Tilly to talk about all things colour!
As a group of students involved with this project they took on so much responsibility as curators, having to adapt the space to fit their exhibition and the artists and their works. So, I asked where does the curatorial process start?
“So, we had to set down some rules, which was difficult because we wanted people to create more freely. But it was a public space, so we weren’t allowed any gore or nudity which was the first step of curation - establishing the rules. We also asked people to make more wall-based artwork, but we did allow room for more sculptural elements. We wanted to make it as free as possible while keeping it suitable for the room we were in and the people who attended. After that it was quite simple, we knew we wanted it in rainbow order and the shape of the room allowed us to easily display it in this way. We did have to modify the space as we wanted it to look like a professional space, so a lot of work went into making it a clean environment.”
Green, Molly Owen
The choice of theming the exhibition around colour was really intriguing as each and every piece created a different reaction from not only the colour of the piece but also the way in which each artist adapted their colour to their own individual art style. For Tilly the inspiration came as a result of an opportunity falling through and the new idea of creating “an exhibition that could bring together a range of artists while also displaying it in a fun and exciting way. Choosing ‘Experience Colour’ came about as we wanted to include a variety of different artists and we wanted to have a theme, one that we had never covered before at the university. We thought that giving artists specific briefs of a certain colour could create a more direct path for it to be a successful, challenging, and exciting exhibition! The idea to have an exhibition was originally Faith’s and Molly’s and we worked together with other people. It was a team effort, each person played an integral role.”
This way it was a fully led student exhibition and they went above and beyond, producing graphics, organising artists and musicians to having wine on opening night. The congratulations flowed in as Tilly noted that “the tutors were really impressed as nothing like that had ever been done before. They said that it would make a really positive impact on art in YSJ for future years. My head of art, Helen, congratulated us on an amazing evening and said that we had really raised the bar. We chatted to first and second year art students and they were so astounded by the exhibition and have been inspired by us to create an exhibition themselves.”
Yellow, Tilly Jackson
In every piece that was displayed you could see the time and effort that went into creation, one of my favourites was Tilly’s. The way in which Tilly used the fabric to create such a distinctive type of yellow and the draping on the wall was incredible and I wanted to know more about how Tilly went about creating the piece and why she started it two months before the exhibition! “So instead of being given yellow, I chose it, so I could display this art that I had been working on. 'If I were my brain’ was my largest piece to date and it was very special to me as it displayed my mental journey over the last two months. It was a self-portrait which displayed how I changed over time. Yellow was the base, it was the colour I originally dyed the fabric, later adding the grey and black tones with other dyes. Yellow represented the core of me which is happiness, and the darker colours represented all other emotions. I wanted the yellow to shine through the most, so I went in afterwards with yellow paint markers to emphasise the happiness I feel. The fabric made the piece more fluid, it meant that I could change the way it was displayed, depending on the space but also how I felt it should be displayed. For the degree show I will be displaying it again but adding a more sculptural element by placing a wooden frame behind the piece to give it more depth. I like that the method of displaying it changes, as each time it allows different elements of the artwork to shine through. The reason it took so long is because it was hand done, each individual swirl was by hand, and with 3 metres of fabric it took a long time!”
The exhibition space was originally a foyer and so we reflected on how each artist adapted their space to fit with the exhibition as they primarily had wall space and Tilly gave the example of Lily Horton’s work and explained “it was a hanging piece and we removed one of the boards behind the work to make the space more open and adapt to the meaning behind the piece. It wasn't a case of just nailing the wall and hanging, each piece required a different method of display.”
Walking around the room there was a sense that these were the artists of the future, and I couldn’t help but think that their work would fit in with works displayed in Tate Modern! The sheer range of artworks from sculpture to painting was incredible alongside the different techniques each artist used to create their pieces. All the artwork complimented each other, and Tilly said that the continuity that I recognised might be as a result of the fact that “we all get inspiration from one another. Each person gets their own desk in the studio space, but we are all in the space together and can see each other's artwork. So, I think we are definitely influenced by one another but not in a way that makes us similar, instead makes us uniquely united. A lot of the artists have collaborated with each other in the past, currently I'm working with Sam on something, and Molly and April worked together. We had a spare board and me, Sam, Faith, and Lily all put our pieces together to create a collage. This collage was made from pieces that were all so different but the common theme of black tied them all together and made it seem purposeful and consistent.”
Tilly and I discussed the importance of student-led exhibitions and supporting upcoming artists as “when an event is well attended and highly supported by not only students but also the general public it encourages young artists to continue working in their practice and feel more confident in their work. The more that artwork is discussed and shared, the more that young people are able to express themselves freely and pursue their passions.”
Tilly in front of her artwork on opening night.
I asked what Tilly’s favourite part of the experience had been. “All of it! Event management and curating events is such a large passion of mine, on the day of installation I stood at the front of the room and looked at everyone installing their work and I got really emotional as I was so proud of the accumulation of hard work, driven people, and absolute passion for art coming together. That being said the music was a highlight to me! Usually when we do university held exhibitions we don't have the experience of working together as students and artists, so that really created a bond that we had never had before.”
The creativity of YSJ was so enlightening to witness and Tilly mentioned that “the 3rd year degree show for the public starts on the 2nd of June, all on YSJ campus. It follows the artwork of fine art, illustration, and photography. There will be lots of events surrounding it including artists talks and a big ending event on the 9th of June. I will also be appearing at the Norman Rea Retrospective on 9th of June talking about the art I exhibited at queer!”
“Again, this was a team effort and I want to thank Molly, Faith, Sam, April, Lily, Ben, Sam, Corban, Alice, and Lily. Their hard work and all of the time and effort they put into opening night made it as incredible as it was.”
