Elgin student to showcase work at Degree Show exhibition

Rebecca Patterson (23), from Duffus near Elgin, has been putting the finishing touches to her end-of-year exhibit ready for the Gray's School of Art Masters Degree Show 2010 in Aberdeen.

The former Elgin Academy pupil has been studying for a Masters in Fine Art in Curatorial Practice at Robert Gordon University's 125-year old art school and is due to graduate in December.

Rebecca has curated a number of small projects, inviting other artists to investigate particular themes and take part in workshops with their various contributions forming the basis of her exhibition.

After devising a route through Aberdeen city-centre, Rebecca invited artists and members of the public to take part in observations of some of the city's historic sites and create drawings in her 'New Perspectives' project. Participants drew the same scene twice, the second time from memory in order to gauge their unique perspective.

Rebecca explains: "In my project, I wanted to investigate how people engage with different environments around them. By comparing and contrasting two drawings of the same area, I was able to see which landmarks and features different people perceive and remember."

Another of Rebecca's projects, 'Build a Fort', invited artists to visit Gray's School of Art to help recreate nostalgic childhood forts and dens.

Rebecca continues: "People form perceptions about spaces as a child and explore the environment around them more than as an adult. Children hide in secret dens
- whether it's under the kitchen table or a sheet over the washing line - children are resourceful and scavenge materials to build their own space."

Participants brought domestic fort making materials e.g. old TV's, sheets, pillows etc and built a fort in a studio at Gray's, bringing back memories and highlighting how childhood spaces help individuals learn about themselves and how the spaces around you e.g. a childhood home, a tree house etc, form such an important part of early childhood memories.

After its launch on Friday 3 September, Gray's School of Art Masters Degree Show will be open to the public until Saturday 11 September, from 10am-8pm Monday to Friday and 10am-5pm on Saturdays.

For more information, please visit www.rgu.ac.uk/mastersdegreeshow.

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