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Environmental issues at the heart of Gray’s School of Art degree show

Painting graduate Emma Caldow, from Aberdeen, wants her bioplastic artwork to help people appreciate the natural landscape of the north-east.
Painting graduate Emma Caldow, from Aberdeen, wants her bioplastic artwork to help people appreciate the natural landscape of the north-east.

Artists from the Robert Gordon University are using their talents to touch on environmental issues as their work goes on public display.

Final preparations are under way for the annual Gray’s School of Art Degree Show, which opens this weekend.

The week-long free exhibition, titled Welcome to the Real World, will showcase a diverse range of final year projects: from painting, contemporary art practice, textiles and fashion to communication design, three-dimensional design and photography.

Graduating painter Emma Caldow, from Aberdeen, will show off her project, The Antroposcene, which incorporates materials collected from three Scottish beaches.

The young artist says she wants her bio-plastic creation to help people appreciate the natural landscape of the north-east while raising awareness of the issues surrounding climate change.

Environmentally conscious artwork

She said: “I want my audience to appreciate the natural landscapes of the north-east coastline and to inspire others to develop sustainable processes and to consider alternative futures that sustain a more circular economy.

“I want to highlight the need to use more sustainable materials and hope my work can generate an appreciation for the earth around us, whilst also highlighting the permanent and devastating impact of fossil-fuel plastics.”

Miss Caldow’s project, titled The Antroposcene, incorporates materials collected from three Scottish beaches.

Katie Taylor, 22, from Tough, has explored the theme of slowness and the natural elements of water, earth, air, and fire through her designs.

She bases her project on the north-east coastline and asks the audience to consider where they would go if the world was ending.

Miss Taylor said: “With every process that I choose, I challenge myself to find alternative, more sustainable, and ecologically beneficial modes of creation.

Katie Taylor from Tough in Aberdeenshire has based her final project on the north-east coastline, asking the audience to consider where they would go if the world was ending.

“My work explores the pace of nature and the rhythms of the tide and patterns in the sand as I encourage the audience to find a moment of calmness in the chaos of everyday life and to slow down.”

The exhibition will be held at Gray’s School of Art on Garthdee Road on Saturday.

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