In review: MA Communication Design Degree Show 2019

Read a review of the MA Communication Design 2019 Degree Show by Lee Nash, Creative Partner at Design Agency, Ark.

Bold executions of self-expression is a clear theme, punctuating the walls of the MA base at Duke Street to lay bare the inner-turmoil experienced by society today.

Harry Pearce (work pictured below) is the stand-out flag bearer, whose deliberate provocative work juxtaposes hard-hitting gender slogans with seemingly placid animals (although watch out for the disgruntled hat-wearing hedgehog).

Hansol Yoo carries on the theme with her Dadaist-inspired work, this time challenging negativity towards those deemed culturally different, through surrealist circular collages.

Shannon Quirke’s ‘Selfie’ puts herself on the canvas, rebelling against the visual perfection so sought after by ‘Generation Z’. Shannon’s distorted and deconstructed photography reminds us that everything isn’t always as it seems under the surface.

And Valerie Dajchin uses the medium of a Fox-centric cartoon to visually portray themes from her own life experiences, such as queer identity and mental health, each delivered with a sly, dry wit.

Other highlights include Sara Soper’s redeciphered album covers, inspired by artist personas, and Yuhe Lin (pictured above) starting her own ‘Garden City Movement’, finding a way to marry busy urban dwellers with the green space they crave.

NUA actively encourages Postgraduate students to pursue their own line of creative enquiry, to discover true self-expression through art. And this year’s MA Degree show could be the most personal display of this yet.

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