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Summer of Sustainability - Some more student work, Enjoy!

The next set of work features students; Anne MacLeod, Annette Holtkamp and Debbie Johnston.


BA Hons Painting Student Anne MacLeod


I am Anne MacLeod and I have just completed Major Project and Contextual Studies on the Painting degree pathway, and have just received my results from the Summer assessment.

The pieces above were made for Major Project.


They are made from aluminium drink cans which I picked from the roads in Neilston. They are part of a collection of 113 discarded cans that I found that had been squashed by the traffic on the roads. By repurposing them into artwork, I am saving them from eventually going to landfill, where each can will stay for 500 years before it oxidises. Had they been recycled they could have been back on supermarket shelves as new drink cans in as little as 60 days. If all aluminium cans were recycled in the UK, we would need 14 million fewer dustbins.


‘Squashing things robs them of their function and their dimensionality, but gives them another presence, another voice.’ Cornelia Parker


I think this work relates to consumerism, environmentalism, and Pop art. It is a symbol of the disconnection some people feel to their environment and an attitude of a throwaway society. There is a connection too, to where I live, which makes it more personal. I created the pieces through psychogeographic practice, walking, noticing and recording and I was inspired by seeing the work of Cornelia Parker. I think the concept of lifting these found objects in the street and repurposing them is one small step towards improving my community and encouraging people to think about the consequences of their actions.


I think there is something quite aesthetically pleasing about the framed pieces. The brands are iconic and instantly recognisable. The fact that the metal is bruised and broken makes you want to examine it closely. I could imagine these being made commercially and being hung on a wall in a modern residence.


I also made a children's mobile toy with the drinks cans, which I called Set an Example. This, again, was inspired by Cornelia Parker, who hangs many of her pieces in wires. The cans were from the 113 that I picked up from the Neilston streets. These are all from alcoholic drinks. The title came from the irony of making a child’s toy with empty cans that the parent perhaps drank from, which would then be hung in a child's bedroom.


You can read more about my work here;


BA Hons Textiles Student Annette Holtkamp


"Fascinated by the textures of natural materials and objects that show traces of usage and ageing I love to create something new and unexpected with them - e.g. used teabags and thin bark to form a vessel, onion skins and rusty wire to build a sculpture or zucchini slices to make a paper-like object. These materials often have a will of their own, and I learn to listen to them and to appreciate their character. I hope my small pieces draw attention to the inherent beauty and versatility of these undervalued, often discarded everyday materials."

Find out more about Annette's work here https://annette.photo-graf.ch/

Follow her on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/holtkampannette/

BA Hons Creative Arts Student Debbie Johnston


I am currently living in Togo, West Africa, where I scour the streets of Lome for discarded items and plant matter to use in my bricolage artworks. For a series of artworks called Au-delà des mot – Beyond Words dealing with personal losses associated with relocation, I have used discarded items on West African fabric that were donated as offcuts from local fashion boutiques. I stretch this fabric over cardboard sourced from shipping crates to form my canvas. The sculpture Home which speaks of the fragility and difficulty of establishing a home in a foreign country,was made from repurposed discarded items. My blog site can be found at Creative Arts L3 – Debbie Johnston – Debbie Johnston – Student # 500739 (oca.ac.uk).




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