Every year, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design holds its Degree Show event, showcasing their undergraduate students final projects. Have you ever attended a DJCAD Degree Show? If so, have you ever wondered how those students started out?
We have documented DJCAD’s Degree Show before, now it’s time to take a deep dive into the beginning of the students’ first year of designing and making!
DJCAD’s Art & Design General Foundation (ADGF) students have just completed their second foundation level module, titled ‘Thinking through Making’. This is a 4-week module that helps ADGF students develop their thinking around the practices of making, with a key focus on understanding artists’ and designers’ processes. The brief centres on visual research and material exploration in the studio, with encouragement to use sustainable materials – such as waste, reusable, recyclable, and/or natural materials.
From this year onward, ADGF students can progress into ten different specialism areas within DJCAD for the continuation of their degree. They can chose from a wide variety of specialisms which range from Fine Art to Product Design, see the full list below:
- Fine Art
- Art & Philosophy
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Animation
- Textile Design
- Jewellery & Metal Design
- Interior and Environmental Design
- Experience Design
- Product Design
Because of this, students were tasked with developing highly individual responses to the brief, with suggested outcomes ranging from domestic objects to large-scale contemporary installation works, interactive experiences and anything in between. The intention of this was to prepare students for their future years within DJCAD, and encourage them to start thinking about what may interest them in particular.
This piece was created using an improvised loom made of cardboard. The sculpture is composed of nine hand-woven panels that were later sewn together. Four of these panels feature individual tartans, each relating to identity.
The top two tartans represent home, depicting the national tartan of Scotland as well as the tartan of Paisley. The Dempsey tartan, representing an Irish lineage, sits in the middle of the sculpture and is the only Irish set included. Despite the Irish blood not being the most prevalent anymore, this shows us that it still forms an important part of this identity. The final bottom tartans are the Munro and Livingstone tartans, these tartans are the base as the clans represent the student’s mother and father.
Cairns’ work reflects their time studying as an ADGF student, highlighting how their practices have expanded thanks to the additional resources and guidance that weren’t previously available for them at school. Cairns used recycled materials to weave into a textile, which they then formed into this incredible sculpture! Can you believe they had never worked with either of these mediums before?
Biggart expands on their sculpture, giving us insight into the meaning and influences behind it:
‘Each element, from the choice of colours to the selection of sea-themed ornaments, tells a story of the deep. The sculpture invites viewers to ponder the interconnectedness of life and the environment. It serves as a reminder of the ocean’s fragility and the importance of its conservation. Inspiration came from the British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, as it replicates the idea of marine life building their own habitat on the surface of this’
Want to see more of what DJCAD students are creating? Join the DJCAD community by following them on Instagram @djcad_uod for behind-the-scenes projects, student features, and updates from around the school.
And while you’re there, check out our Culture account @UODCulture to explore more events, stories, and creative highlights from across the university!