Imagination. Skill. Hard work. If your cynical view of students doesn’t include these words, the Dundee Degree Show will change your mind.
Over the next 10 days, more than 15,000 people are expected to flock to Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) to see art works by more than 300 final-year students.
From fine art to architecture, illustration to interior design, textiles to time-based art, there’s something for all tastes. A guaranteed talking point of this year’s show is the guillotine that forms the centrepiece of Jamie Watt’s display.
The 24-year-old from Linlithgow grew up fascinated by Scottish history.
His work is inspired by two historic figures: James Douglas, the fourth Earl of Morton, and Thomas Aitkenhead, a drunk Edinburgh student, who was the last person in Britain executed for blasphemy.
“The guillotine is associated with France,” James explains.
“But James Douglas introduced the Maiden – an early form of the guillotine – to Scotland. Ironically, he was then executed by the Maiden.
“Aitkenhead was killed by hanging because the Maiden was thought to be too humane.
“The weight on my guillotine is made from melted down beer cans to reflect this relationship with alcohol.”
An exhibit that’s making a big noise is that of Diana Moonie. Her table of china and porcelain cups and dishes sits on a raised dais. Visitors are encouraged to walk on the platform, which sets the crockery making a musical jangle.
There are some spectacular jewellery collections, including gorgeous spoons with slender, curving handles by Jenna Watson; “Patterns of Morocco” rings by Ailie McKnight; and plant-inspired headbands, necklaces, rings and earrings made by Santa Sidlovska.
Among the many imaginative architecture projects on display is one that just might come to fruition.
Students from DJCAD have helped come up with plans to transform Scotland’s oldest working railway station.
Their design for Broughty Ferry station would see the building turned into a vibrant arts centre.
There’s also some very special furniture at the degree show. Jon Christie is a former DJ who discovered a passion for Scandinavian furniture. Jon co-owned the Pressure Records shop in Dundee, before a visit to his wife’s Danish homeland changed his life more than 20 years ago.
He was blown away by the elegance of the furniture he encountered there.
Jon was impressed by how the Danes’ placed huge value on the quality of construction as well as aesthetics and how these items were integral to their sense of home.
“When I took my first trip to Denmark with my wife, I couldn’t believe the furniture I was seeing in people’s houses,” he said.
“This didn’t look like any furniture I’d ever seen before. I instantly fell in love with these beautiful, elegant, timeless designs.
“I came back and learned everything I could about the wonders I had seen and developed a real passion for furniture and lighting, especially mid-20th Century or Modernist design.
“Before I came back into education, I made my living from it but it got to the point four years ago when I felt I had to give it a go as a designer.”
His centrepiece of tables and chairs, which blends traditional craftsmanship, modernist design and state-of-the-art 3D printing technology, is sure to be one of the most talked-about exhibits at this year’s show.
Dundee Degree Show launches on May 20 and runs until May 29. See more at www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/degreeshow.
Videos by Dylan Drummond
