The MA Show 2019 showcases artworks by graduating students from the Visual Arts MA programme at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. The free exhibition, held in the College's Edward James Studios, will display painting, sculpture and textiles from Emma Hurst, Dennis Joroen and Emma Straw.

Preview: Thursday 12 September, 5-7pm
Open: Friday 13 September - Sunday 15 September 2019, 10am-5pm

The Edward James Studios, West Dean College of Arts and Conservation (use Gardens entrance)

Emma Hurst's approach to image-making happens from the inside out. Her work engages with embodied time through other forms of duality - darkness and light, passion and fragility, even the space between people and things. The work aims to blur boundaries between painting, textiles, sculpture and installation, activating the latent, emotive power of the material world. Hurst's practice is process driven, embracing physical activity in the studio as a framework in which to explore manifestations of thought and feeling.

Using contrasting traditional and contemporary techniques, Dennis Joroen repurposes discarded/found objects and, through an alchemical process of alteration, interaction and manipulation, transforms them into artworks. His practice explores themes relating to metamorphosis, transformation, mutation, manipulation as meditations on his experience of confronting HIV. When faced with life threatening illness one's life is thrown into chaos. The more we investigate our feelings, the more illusory the nature of matter appears - where the walls between dimensions seem thinner, like in dreams or mirages. Such meditations can help lead a healing person on a journey where what is important isn't the reality of the disease itself but the transformational power of the mind that experiences it.

Exploiting the unpredictability of the water-based mark-making - allowing liquids to spread, dissolve and interlink without intervention - Emma Nicole Straw reveals areas of colour which can be interpreted, manipulated and refined through translation into woven tapestry. Complex compositions of line and hue are meticulously thought over and considered, resulting in a series of structured and controlled tapestries that capture both the chaos and focus on specific qualities of colour, blend, and detail.

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation is renowned for its Visual Arts programmes, with graduates going on to exhibit internationally. The department's ethos of encouraging diverse interdisciplinary practice, together with its support of specialist subjects, attracts students interested in experimental approaches to art and those with a strong emphasis on studio practice and making. Large studios, excellent facilities, and an outstanding student/staff ratio ensure students are supported to challenge themselves and push the boundaries of contemporary fine art practice.