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Murder and shadowy mysteries revealed in UEL Fine Art exhibition

Thursday 2 November 2006

Who’s that hiding in the cupboard? And whose is that shadow on the wall? Murder and shadowy mysteries are at the heart of a Fine Art exhibition on show at the University of East London (UEL) Docklands Campus from 1-6 November.

Six third-year students from UEL’s BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art organised and curated the show, simply entitled Private view. Their work ranges from installations to sketches and paintings, and is on display at the UEL School of Architecture and the Visual Arts.

Shafiq Dad (21), of Shadwell, produced an installation involving a stuttering video and two men sitting silently in cupboards. His untitled piece is based on a newspaper account of a murder in Saudi Arabia. Two male lovers were caught together; knowing they could face the death penalty as punishment, they murdered the man who had seen them.

Shafiq explained: “In the end, the murderers were arrested and are now facing the death penalty. The idea that everyone was a victim in the story is what I’ve tried to capture in my installation. I particularly like the combination of live and pre-recorded materials in this piece; it creates an unusual balance and is a good example of the high level of creative freedom I’ve been given to develop my work at UEL.”

Sabina Schlaffinger produced a performance installation entitled On/Off for the exhibition. Her work involves a shadow projected onto a wall behind a chair, inspiring questions about the ideas of presence and absence.

Sabina said: “Something can be present without people seeing it, and the opposite is also true. Is this object any less real because it’s only a shadow? This exhibition has capped a good start to my final year, and I'm really looking forward to developing my work at UEL.”

Tim Allen, Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at UEL, said: “The students have been very focussed about what they put into this exhibition and have shown a promising degree of sophistication in how they’ve curated the event. After the fantastic third year group we had last year, I’m very happy to see our momentum hasn’t been lost.”

UEL’s School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, opened in 2004 by Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry, offers dedicated, purpose-built studios and workshops, together with impressive exhibition space, providing an ideal venue for regular Fashion, Fine Art, Architecture and Design shows.

For details of upcoming UEL exhibitions and events, visit www.uel.ac.uk.

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For details and pictures contact Patrick Wilson: 020 8223 2061 or 07951 797 975

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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