Looking Forward | St Kevins College Graduate Exhibition 2012

This year The Exchange  in Temple bar  plays host to graduates of photography who have come through the level 6 Higher National Diploma programme in St Kevins College, Dublin. This is the third year of the stand-alone level 6 course and the exhibition itself represents the diversity, energy and uniqueness that the college provides.

Developing photographic skills are, of course, a crucial element of any photographic course, at any level. Yet, skills alone are simply not enough in the contemporary photographic landscape. The process we set in place in St Kevin’s College encourages students to find a photographic ‘personality’ – a vision which is a pure expression of the individual’s own visual experience of the world around us, an expression of their own creative sensibilities and a reflection of their own technical strengths and abilities.  At the start of each college year, students propose an idea, or a concept, which will be developed photographically throughout the year. The development of project-based and concept-based photography is crucial in taking the development and understanding of photography ‘beyond photography’ in a sense.  Students are encouraged to consider the fundamentals of photography, yes, but also the complexities of the photographic practice itself.

There is a necessity, within this process, of visual connection to a subject or theme. Students find their own topic, their own vision and to try to translate these effectively. Together with their tutors, students explore traditional and contemporary approaches to given themes and subject matter and, further, find an aesthetic and conceptual solution to suit the individuals own subject. My role has been to help students find their subject, their vision and translate it effectively. The process  is supported on an on-going basis by a series of workshops and further refined through a succession of critical reviews, with the involvement of all tutors and peers. At these critical reviews we have established a type of synergy between tutors and students which is part of the successes of this year’s exhibition.

The work exhibited in The Exchange will reflect the broad demographics within the college itself. As well as presenting more established themes, subject matter and photographic approaches, some students concentrate on their own personal environment - sharing with us a sense of their own subjective and intimate experience with the world.  While some deal with the complexities of their own spiritual, mental and cultural life others deal with a family illness and the theme of old age. The exhibition is also, to a degree, dominated by portraiture. While many students take a classic approach to portraiture, others use the portrait to explore issues of identity and nationality, as well as examining social and cultural life in contemporary Dublin. Another prominent theme is that of urban life itself. While some represent the formal architecture and landscape of Dublin, others focus on the disconcerting atmosphere and sense of alienation and disconnection one can experience in the city. The show overall spans the spectrum of the commercial world to the personal world – each with its own approach and style, strengths and skills. The exhibition is testament to the students themselves, to the investment they have made in their own work throughout the year and the efforts they have made to produce what is the largest and finest St Kevin’s College Graduate exhibition to date.

Martin Cregg
2nd Year Tutor

Images: 
Stacey Glennon c., Jessica Skelton c.,

Chris Connolly c., Chris OReilly c., 

Anna Loveinska c., Mary Kate Hanlon c.,

Angela Goodwin Russell c. 

FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/events/245772558855446/