Six digital editions by emerging artists currently studying at the Royal College of Art are presented as part of Becoming, an exhibition at London’s Dyson Gallery. During and after the exhibition the six artworks will be available as a collection of digital editions, also titled Becoming, on Sedition.
The artists whose works are part of the collection are Yao Cong, Sarah Howe, Aki Pao-Chen Chiu, Georgi Stamenov and Anna Ridler. The exhibition is presented by Subject Matter, RCA and Sedition and takes place from 22 February to 3 March 2017.
The artworks in the collection encompass still images, GIFs, animation and video. Together, they and the other works on display at Dyson Gallery present multiple responses to the theme of Becoming, which puts the focus on process ahead of outcome. Overall, Becoming is about being an artist in today’s complex social, political and economic climate, and the challenges emerging artists face in developing a sustainable practice. Each artwork deals with sub-themes taking a different approach to incompleteness, continuity and transition; as such the collection touches on, and makes dialogues between diverse themes including gender, language, machine learning and mental health.
ПЛАТ – Fabric by Georgi Stamenov
Georgi Stamenov’s still image work ПЛАТ – Fabric explores digital materiality by rendering fabric into 3D animation. Sarah Howe’s Diagnosing the Cure repurposes aesthetic elements of self help videos into GIF format, examining the evolution of online self-help networks. Anna Ridler’s Typography works with existing glyphs and WikiLeaks data to create a new experimental alphabet. In Under Blue Yao Cong explores identity construction and the relationship between performance and the body through a video piece that makes careful use of close-up shots, alternately masking and revealing glimpses of the subject matter.
The print works in the exhibition can be purchased as photographic prints from Subject Matter. All proceeds from the editions benefit the RCA’s Fine Art Bursary Fund to support the career development of future emerging artists.
