Behind the bustle and colour of the 2016 graduate shows Gerry Walker finds a wealth of well-researched, accomplished projects.
Graduate exhibitions can have the appearance of being casually constructed events. Appearances may be misleading however. Assessment procedures for art graduates are systematically formulated and rigorously applied. A graduate project objective has to be evenly developed and concluded. The end result can look deceptively casual and may not immediately reveal the many levels of significance and meaning invested in its gestation – in addition the student is expected to demonstrate a knowledge of art history and an informed awareness of working within a cultural context.
Among this year’s cohort of graduates, individuality reigns supreme with varying degrees of excellence coming to the fore. Leaving slavish adherence to perennial fashion aside, and there appears to be very little of it in evidence here, it is difficult to discern an obvious trend or Zeitgeist among the class of 2016. There is no canon of orthodoxies which says that there should be one, but some threads of commonality are discernible. The respective high achievers share distinct elements of interpretative inquiry, which frequently defer to legacy and tradition and seek to assert personal ownership of concepts and presentations.
Brian McAvera sees Colin Davidson wrestle with sexual politics in his new series of Nudes on view this autumn at Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin.
Can the pragmatic 21st-century East range at Trinity College Dublin match the 18th-century splendour of the West Front? James Howley appraises recent developments on the campus
William Turner de Lond captured two significant political events during his sojourn in Ireland, examined here by Mary Jane Boland.