Issue 101 / July 2019

REVIEWS
“The ideas here
represent the end
of learning, and the
beginning of practice”
The End Is Nigh! (Carlos Santos and Milos Sampraga)
The End Is Nigh!
LJMU Art and Design degree show
2019 – 24/05
As an early major platform for many of the artists involved,
degree shows are a unique prospect. LJMU’s 2019 edition –
dramatically titled THE END IS NIGH! – is big in both significance
and size, occupying every floor of the John Lennon Art and
Design Building. Four subjects have been given space: alongside
fine art there’s graphic design and illustration, fashion design and
communication and architecture.
The fine art presentations cover pretty much every
medium – film, painting and sculpture. There are a couple of
rooms dominated by installations that are clearly meant as ‘big
statements’. The ambition to do something large-scale must
be tempting when several years of study have all led up to this
moment. The success of these pieces, though, must rest on the
same question as any artwork: what’s their point, or purpose? Is
it clear, and do they succeed in moving the audience? In a couple
of cases, this isn’t entirely successful. The best is one of the
simplest: a tent-fort made out of dyed sheets. Inside music plays,
soundtracking videos of people being unequivocally themselves;
whether dancing semi-naked or dressing up, this is a space for
expression without shame, and filled with warm feeling because
of it.
Among the rest of the show, in the objects of the walls
and floors, there are some really great pieces to discover. An
armadillo-accordion hybrid creature, standing in a sea of torn
fables, is totally endearing. There is a corner of weavings
stretching up from and down to the ground like braids – slightly
unnerving, but irresistibly tactile. An intricately detailed, sexually
charged dragon appears to shoot lasers from its eyes at anything
that might disturb its power.
Despite being closely related disciplines, there’s a massive
difference between the work by the fine art and graphic design
and illustration students. The graphic design and illustration
section is somewhat more straightforward in terms of message
and medium – more enjoyable for it. It’s not that politics isn’t
present – there are zines about the environment, cults and Trump.
But there’s a sense that the more defined medium unlocks a
different sense of play. Details of everyday objects are enlarged
to abstraction; new worlds are filled with characters ready for you
to join their adventures. These artists have produced work that is
confident in its own ability to make a point without feeling a need
to overthink things
The fashion design and communication show is
predominantly based around the publication of UN_FOLD
magazine. Combining design, editorial, photography and
graphics, the look and feel is polished and it feels ready to sit
alongside any other publication on the shelves in a gallery gift
shop. It’s an impressive vehicle for conveying the students’ skills.
Architecture is arguably, in terms of its impact on the way
we live, the most significant discipline here. In exhibition form,
however, it can be difficult for a casual observer to relate to.
Each building comes with a significant amount of rationale and
exemplification about its approach and solution to issues. This
isn’t to say it’s not impressive, but it’s a very different kind of
experience to engage with. So as well as being here for design
value, the decision to have these presentations sharing the space
with the more immediate visual disciplines is interesting for the
questions it raises about what it interrogated in each type of
work, and the complexities of defining success.
The End Is Nigh! is a title that really only tells half the story.
The degree show marks the end of one phase, but the beginning
of another. So the ideas here represent the end of learning, and
the beginning of practice. Should we expect the finished article?
Or should this be seen instead as a starting point for the next
stage? The world offers huge learning curves: if an idea doesn’t
land now, it can still be a point for the development that comes
with experience. !
Julia Johnson / @MessyLines_
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