BAM show packs an artistic punch
They look like the real deal.
They could be postcards mailed from some long-closed post office on the other side of the world. But they are oil paint recreations by Bachelor of Arts and Media graduate Charlotte Hutton – one of the 14 students showcasing works at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology BAM 2018 exhibition.
The graduates represent various disciplines in the arts, including graphic designers, photographers, illustrators and painters.
NMIT senior studio course coordinator Catharine Salmon said this year’s group was a lively bunch with amazing talent.
‘‘They were just vibrant souls, and they’ve all come together to make a show which is varied because they’re all doing different things. This group is quite notable because they have been quite an exuberant and noisy group.’’
Each graduate has put together a body of work to demonstrate their capability in their chosen field. The outcome was a showcase of their strengths and what distinguished them from other work already in the field they had chosen, Salmon said.
Graduate photographer Yuchao Wu met the brief. ‘‘She has made a very interesting series about her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s.’’
Wu was interested in family portraits, not just the final shot but what happened before and after, Salmon said. ‘‘From people organising themselves to . . . stopping the kids wriggling, or having a joke, or changing places, or having each other on. That all goes on while they line up and after they finish, and they relax and they start to talk.’’
When Wu started to capture the moments, there was one person who never changed. Her grandmother had this ‘‘lost look on her face’’ the entire time, Salmon said. ‘‘So then she started to photograph her with members of the family . . . and on her own in her room.
‘‘That’s a powerful essay around Alzheimer’s.’’
The graphic designers had slightly less input creating their pieces. ‘‘All the graphic designers worked to briefs and worked with clients in the community, which also shows off their skills and aesthetic judgments,’’ and had all done ‘‘really interesting projects’’.
Visitors to the exhibition can expect to see art everywhere – even on the windows.
Ming Yan creates decals and watercolour paintings, and took inspiration from her Chinese background to design pictures which let the light shine through them. ‘‘She’s done all these extraordinary images,’’ Salmon said.
Yan said most young Chinese had to leave their rural villages to move to the cities to make money. ‘‘They often lead stressful lives, away from beautiful nature in an unnatural environment.
‘‘I have designed window decals to remind people of what they have left behind, and perhaps lead them to ask what is the real meaning in their lives.’’
At BAM, the art could lift your spirits, get you thinking or just make you smile. With show dog photography, tattoo design and digital illustration, the exhibition has something for everyone.
BAM 2018 will be at NMIT’s G block, entrance No 7, Nile St from November 24-30, open daily from 10am to 4pm.
‘‘[The artists] were just vibrant souls, and they’ve all come together to make a show which is varied.’’ Catharine Salmon, NMIT senior studio course coordinator