Art & Design students visit Eco-Visionaries exhibition

LONDON — On the first week back at Oaklands College this term, Level 3 Art & Design students, including the Foundation Degree course, took a trip to London to visit the Eco-Visionaries exhibition at the Royal Academy. 

From climate change to species extinction and resource depletion, the exhibition highlighted the damaging effects of modern life. The exhibition examined humankind’s impact on the planet and presented innovative approaches that re-frame our relationship with nature. Through film, installation, architectural models and photography, the works in this captured how art and design styles are reaction to a rapidly changing world.

Both groups are currently working on a live brief for the Creative Conscience student awards and the Eco-Visionaries exhibition proved an excellent opportunity for students to research the work of other artists.
The brief requires students to create work that responds to the issue of Climate Change, so far the students have researched a diverse range of issues including plastic waste, fast fashion and forest fires to inform their work.

Art & Design lecturer Karen Gordon said: “The exhibition displayed a wide variety of work from different artists, some documenting the impact of man upon the environment, some imagining potential solutions to the issue such as sustainable architecture.

Particularly popular with our group was an installation piece involving sound, light and a tank of live jellyfish! Another popular piece was a life-size digitally animated recreation of the white rhinoceros, which is sadly now extinct.

Overall it was an interesting trip and has provided lots of inspiration to our students in taking their own ideas forward.”

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