June 2016 saw the doors to The Hull School of Art and Design flung open for the 2016 Degree Show, naturally this was my chance to flex my exhibition curator muscles. Each year the university builds an exhibition to celebrate students work. It has been the same design and layout for many years. Until this year as I was drafted in to give this a much needed refresh. I created a new(ish) layout and template as a legacy for years to come. The tutors took a step back from the design and layout of the exhibition this year and guided me when necessary for example the golden rule that the students chose the work to be put up and the 0 budget we received, so it became a learning curve for all of us.
Other changes was the use of wall space in the room and our ‘opening’ as I placed posters over the windows so other courses could not see anything until the Friday opening. I created a soundtrack for the exhibition in reflection to the show I curated at Hull College School of Art and Design: Park Street in 2013. I also had some perks to the job as I had a large amount of wall space to display quite a lot of ISTD work, Anamorphic Illusions flats, a real illusion, ‘gift shop’ D&AD and space for THE SECRET ELEMENT.
The exhibition included sights, sounds and smells of my work, as I was a part of Hull College for 6 years so I wanted to go out with a bang. My area had The Plague Box that everyone wanted to touch but had to wear gloves to read The Pestilence – A Plague of The Dungeons, a portfolio which contained 40% Graphic Design work and 60% Madame Tussauds and Plague photography work. The show became a great success and one of the most visited exhibitions for years, it was viewed by many design agencies. But most importantly directors, producers, programmers, volunteers and CEO of Hull 2017 UK City of Culture.
This also saw the reveal of the highly anticipated THE SECRET ELEMENT after three years in the making. The element had it’s own room that was away from the main Graphic Design area, this had two reasons; I wanted you to stumble upon it and be taken by suprise and this was the only dark room HSAD has that the public can view. Also it was opposite my Anamorphic Illusion on the stairs leading up the main exhibition area. During the opening I was thinking that the public would just think that it was very Sean Alton and macabre. I was shocked to find this was the main crowd puller as it was just meters away from the entrance. From the feedback I got was all positive with one child saying ‘the floating head’ was the best in the whole exhibition.
All the images you see are all my work that was on show in; Graphic Design, Offices Corridor, Illusion Stairs, Dark Room.
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