Photography students take their work out into the city in a series of exhibitions

Students in their second year of the BA (Hons) Photography course at Nottingham Trent University are taking their work out into Nottingham through a series of six group exhibitions this February.

The exhibitions will include a wide array of photographic works and styles, exploring each student’s creative approach to a different theme. Teaching on the Photography course spans areas including art, documentary, editorial, advertising, fashion and critical writing. The works have all been made recently, so the exhibitions represent a chance for the public to encounter exciting and diverse work by emerging photographers in Nottingham, showcasing some of NTU’s brightest talent.

One of the exhibitions, entitled :Twelve, will run at Rough Trade for three days from 12 February, and will include the work of Paige Churchill, Tom Coffey, Chloe MacInnes, Ellie Mcnerney, Jack Pickerill, Mollie Prime,  Amy Pritchard, Katie Rogers, Jason Sheehan, Will Slater, Thomas Stenning and Jasbeer Swali.

: Twelve will aim to explore and challenge the truth and reality of social media, the formality of shape, texture and light, the contrasting ways that the rural and urban landscape can be depicted, and other photographic ideas. In so doing, it will also explore the emergence of each student’s development as an artist.

Chloe MacInnes and Amy Pritchard both commented: “The exhibition brings together a wide variety of photographic styles, subject matter and techniques, culminating in an array of artworks that each student has worked extremely hard on creating. We hope everyone enjoys the exhibition and the variety of creative work on display!”

Another exhibition, entitled Elrich, will run at Surface Gallery from 3 – 10 February. This show will feature the work of Joe Barlow, Gina Coelho, Rebecca Collins, Matthew Dennis, James Fitzpatrick Diamond, Lauren Heap, Georgie Jones, Georgina McGrath, Ria Measom, Megan Oakley and Joe Santander.

Elrich, which is derived from the Old English for strange or otherworldly, will explore the individual photographers’ interpretations of ‘The Uncanny’. The exhibition brings together a variety of photographic styles and techniques, culminating in a wide range of captivating work, from intimate portraits exploring the boundaries of time, to larger scale sculptural forms.

Joe Santander said: “We really wanted to explore the uncanny ,and we have all used a different range of techniques to try and represent that.”

Student work featured in Elrich

Meanwhile No Method, which will take place at Backlit, will show works spanning fashion and documentary, to fine art and portraiture. Though the journey is made together, in each case it is the individual’s journey alone and this exhibition will show the final product of each individual artist. These thirteen artists have gone against the structural norm and bound these different pieces together to create an exhibition with no teacher, no Guru, no system and finally, no method.

No Method will open on 12 February, and will feature work by Phoebe Bowdige, Lois Cropper, Jess Govinden, Kathleen Stewart, Kerena Bamrolia, Natasha Nijjer, Nathan Bateson, Nathan Robinson, Rebecca Potten, Rebecca Wilde, Sara Bialas, Shona Monticelli and Tom Stritch.

A further show, New Documents, will be open at Hung Up on Derby Road from 12 to 18 February, this time with a focus on documentary photography. The photographers involved here are Destiny Avey-Walters, Ellie Bell, Hannah Billington, Richard Campbell, Lydia Harding, Josie Lancaster, Madeline Lee, Wesley Morgan, Jess Russell and Megan Wilson.

In a group statement they expressed: “Photography is a way to tell a story and evoke feelings. We use our cameras as a tool to create powerful imagery and experiences; for us as photographers conveying these experiences to the viewer is the ultimate sense of completion.”

Focusing on storytelling through documentary photography, New Documents will reflect of how, through photography, we express our thoughts of life and the world around us. The photographers display the reflection of humanity in the exhibition featuring numerous project themes ranging from everyday life, national issues, portraits to architecture. The photographers work includes all forms of medium, such as digital, 35mm and medium format photography to express their views of the world.

Catalyst will open at Focus Gallery on Derby Road on 13 February, featuring work by Maia Baker, Rosie Garrett, Beth Jones- Grimshaw, Lucy Rebecca Hil, Kirsty Elizabeth Howland, Grace Kendall, Alexandros Peleties, Jason M Rogers, Rachel Sainsbury, Emily Shaw, Angela Smales, Jennifer Snape and Molly Jayne Thomas. The work includes an array of photographic genres and styles, that will explore such issues as masculinity, race, age and gender.

Finally across the city, a further exhibition will take place at Malt Cross, entitled Moments, showcasing the work of Issy Bennett, Caitlin Cody, Mitch Gamble, Alex Gothard, Lucy Hyde, Oli Knowles, Camisha Maduro, Morgan McMahon, Zaneta Nesterowicz, Katie Smith, Georgia Williams and Eléna Wilson.