Liverpool John Moores Fine Art Degree Show 2007
By Vicki Maguire
Making a striking impact sadly lacking in last year’s effort, the 2007 Liverpool John Moores Fine Art Degree Show makes a coherent statement concerning our perceptions of reality, the superficial surface and obscured depths of everyday existence. Pairing a high quality of workmanship with original concepts, Claudia Lastra plays with expectations and artistic conventions to produce works that possess an inherent freshness. Likewise, Harry Lawson’s poetic minimalism makes a lasting impression; one which the less imaginative of this year’s artists could do well to learn from.
Jeanette Wilcocks ‘peels back the layers’ in a more literal way with her intricate works in glass, whilst Elenor Overs challenges the media’s representation of women, managing to escape accusations of cliché with an impressive installation.
Helen Thompson’s disorientating maze of canvas and Emily Stevenson’s uncanny ceramics continue the theme of the hidden and obscured – along with Kathryn Kimber’s textiles epitomising the high quality of workmanship that distinguishes the 2007 degree show from some of its predecessors.
Whilst not all of this year’s work is free from the well-worn art school clichés
(the extremely obvious “influence