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UEL Visual Arts degree exhibition highlights the best of local national and global talent

Thursday 28 May 2009

Felicity Hayward, 20, Camden Town, London N1

Hundreds of creative graduates from the University of East London’s (UEL) School of Architecture and the Visual Arts (AVA) will show their work at UEL’s Docklands Campus at the annual UEL Visual Arts degree show which will run from 4 - 8 June.

Cornelia Parker, renowned sculptor and installation artist, will open the exhibition on Thursday 4 June for a private viewing which is also open to the public. The event highlights stunning displays of work from UEL students who are based locally, around London, the UK and world-wide.

The exhibition celebrates the achievements of students graduating in a range of diverse degree programmes within a variety of art and design subjects including Fine Art, Photography, Textiles, Graphic Design, Animation, Digital Arts and Fashion.

“I’m delighted to welcome the public to see our students’ high level of achievement. Also, the diversity and quality of the work demonstrates how our students have flourished and are well prepared to succeed in the creative industries.’’ Said Pete Cobb Dean of the AVA.

Upcoming showcase events at UEL this summer include the Architecture Year End Show, Fine Art Professional Doctorate Interim show, and MA Fine Art and MA Contemporary Art and Design Practice shows, alongside a number of external exhibitions. Later this summer, the school will host the annual Newham Schools art exhibition and an Ofsted Art and Design Conference.    The Visual Arts Degree Show is open to the public from Thursday 4 June until Sunday 7 June. For full details or further information call 020 8223 3333 or visit www.uel.ac.uk/ava

Artists exhibiting at the show include:

Layla Lyons from Surrey has completed her BA Hons Fine Art degree
“These three pictures are examples of figurative work and powerfully represented. My ideal is taboo beauty, colours are beautiful and there is a context of powerplay too and questions about gender. I like to be able to introduce narrative and leave people to interpret the rest.”

Felicity Hayward of Camden Town has completed her BA Hons Fine Art degree
“My work is called Finders Keepers and it’s a response to the traditional family album and the loss of it in our digital society. Will there be a family album to pass on to the next generation or will we rely on the internet and technology to store all of this?”

Jenni Lehtonen from Stratford has completed her BA Hons Photography degree
“My work is called Anecdote and is about the natural landscape of my origins as the photographs are from Helsinki. Nature is a crucial aspect of the Nordic people and I wanted to photograph the beauty of the landscape and to acknowledge the surroundings as they look now, prior to them maybe being destroyed by having new homes built there or in other ways.”

Paul Sonola of Plaistow, has completed his BA Hons degree in Graphic Design and Photography
“The name of my work is Empty surroundings and it’s looking at the idea of emptiness, relating to personal space and environment. It reminds me of childhood memories, where I lived and the parks and places I visited with my family. In the final year of my degree, I wanted my own personal space because so much was happening, I was working and studying intensely and there were lots of family changes too.”

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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