12th November - 31st Jan 2004

Nine New British Graduates

FRESH

‘Fresh’ features vibrant collections of work from nine new graduate designers, carefully selected by Kath Libbert as representing the very best of emerging design talent. At the cutting-edge of fashion and design, Lynne Kirstin Murray’s bold and intriguing jewellery mixes silver and gold with paint, felt and wood. Inspired by the forest, where Lynne says “there are large luxurious pieces and small but beautiful pieces,” her collection includes ‘Tea Party in the Trees’, a fantastical moving ring in silver, gold plate and colourful enamel paint. Lynne describes her work as “a collection of thoughts telling a story in which each component has its place.”

Adorable red felt slippers and delicately embroidered merino fleece handbags are the work of Suzanne McCulloch - taking references from her own childhood and memories of “hand-knits, thick woolly tights and socks and our ever-present red shoes.” By contrast, her show-stopping, large scale, felted ‘Bagdresses’ and pastel wool ‘Umbrelladresses’ are tactile pieces of art which exude a ‘naïve spontaneity’

Hand-made silver spirals are used by Sabrina Mallem to string together rows of bright, shiny buttons into fun, easy to wear neckpieces. In Nina Osborne’s richly decorated sterling silver brooches, traditional patterns, such as paisley, meet modern materials and techniques, including cold enamel, computer-aided drawing and image transfer.

Grace Girvan grew up in Scotland, close to the shores of Lower Cloudy, Old Grutha and Chapel Point. A dedicated beachcomber, the driftwood, pebbles and shells she collects become precious objects because they have been selected from the countless pieces offered up by the beaches. These original treasures, shaped by time and the elements, cannot be reproduced by hand; Grace combines them with silver and layers of coloured enamel to create her collection of ‘sea brooches’.

Organic structures, movement and layering are key elements of Kate Bajic’s delicate brooches, neckpieces and rings crafted from silver and gold. Several of her pieces have free moving surface elements, whilst others move in tune with the wearer’s movement.

For the duration of the exhibition, theGallery will also become home to Cathy Miles’ gang of Yorkshire-inspired, cute (but not necessarily cuddly) birds and insects, created specially for ‘Fresh’. She comments: “This kingdom of ornithology is illustrated on walls, which act as a large canvas to house an eclectic mix of writing, pen and wire drawing and small creatures made of lost and found material.” Cathy describes her birds and insects as being ”much like us; they have elders, speak various dialects and enjoy bickering.” Intriguingly, she adds: “There is a distinct similarity between the Yorkshire bird and the Yorkshire gentleman; they adopt similar habits and share similar noises.”

Kath Libbert comments: “Having visited numerous graduate shows and design exhibitions, in the UK and Europe, over many years, I was so impressed by the quality of work being produced by the cream of this year’s graduates that I decided to put together ‘Fresh’ - which perfectly sums up the collections being exhibited. The work is refreshingly strident and confident, really bold and colourful - and often humourous. There’s also a great cosmopolitan feel to many of the collections. I am convinced that these are young designers who will go on to enjoy huge success and I’m delighted to be showing their work at this early stage of their careers.”