University students take their work to Chichester’s Oxmarket Contemporary

Selected work will be in the gallery’s Wilson Studio for two weeks from Tuesday, June 24 to Sunday, July 6, thanks to the generous support of The Arts Society Chichester.

For Elliot Gordon, it's the conclusion of a very happy three years: “It has been brilliant. When I first came to an open day here before coming to university, I just fell in love with the place and the feel of it.”

Alayna Corbett has had a similarly happy experience: “The main draw for me with Chichester is that it's quite close to where I live. I live about an hour away in Henfield. But I've really enjoyed the course and again it is the fact that it is quite small. You know everybody. You don't get lost in a big group of people.”

And it has given her the chance to develop her practice: “At A level I never thought that I would be painting fruit and vegetables. I wasn't really painting. I was much more of a print-maker but it's given me a great chance to grow. You're surrounded by like-minded people and I think it's so beneficial to be working with other people that you can discuss things with. If you're not quite sure about the work that you're doing or if you just want to ask somebody, you can always chat and compare ideas, and that is great.

As for Elliot, he explains: “My work looks at colour, shape and form. It questions the way in which simple components can come together in a conversation with each other. I aim to create contrast in difference and harmony in similarity. I don’t want my work to hide; it’s proud to be what it is.”

Evan Mumby and Emily Bacon are also finishing their time at the university.

Emily is already looking back on a fulfilling three years at the university: “I am from Bedfordshire and one thing my dad was very firm on was the fact that I must be at least 90 minutes away from home. He said that I needed to be far enough away from home that I didn't come home every weekend!

Evan took more of a punt on the university: “The main thing was the sculpture facilities here. I wanted to specialise in sculpture, and most universities that I applied for didn't have specific sculpture or if they did it was only ceramics but here it is ceramics and also anything else you want to do. I'm from Grimsby and the first time I was here was when I came down to start. They had the facilities that I wanted, and the studio space looked good online so I just thought ‘Go for it!’ I wanted to gain independence and that's why I'm so far away from home.”

Since then his work has changed quite a lot: “When I did my foundation course in Grimsby, my work was very different. I was doing very sculptural stuff which was always quite wacky but during the three years here my use of materials has changed. I've ended up going down the avenue of textile sculpture which I never thought I would do before I started here but it has been great. The course gives you to the space to explore whatever it is you want to explore.”

As for the work, Evan explains: “My installation encourages hands-on play, allowing viewers to connect with it through touch. I combine repurposed materials with objects I design digitally, leading to traditional production processes such as press-moulding and crochet. My work is driven by a passion for bird conservation and exploring human impact on the environment.”

Emily added: “My work focuses strongly on a sense of self, exploring my life through physical movement and paint. Through the action of marking, erasing, restating, and obscuring, I aim to create fields of immersive and expressive line and shape, with an interest in hidden or obscured writing (palimpsests and asemic text).”