This December saw the work in progress exhibition of the department of Communication Art & Design at the Royal College of Art. ARTS THREAD went along to see what’s new.

Jean Jullien showed Toys, a series of wooden figures that worked from his boldly-coloured cartoon-style posters and prints.

Three students Simon Dara, Paddy Langley and Max McLaughlin worked together on an experimental project over five days in the collaborative production of image, sound and sculpture. Starting with a series of simple rules – using only one colour, creating all the work in situ in the RCA space and documenting the progress of the work as often as possible.

The sounds produced on the project were all generated by manipulating recordings made as the work was produced, including the sounds of a typewriter, crushing chalk in a pestle and mortar and wiping the blackboard with newsprint.

The three documented the progress with photography, film and keeping a typewritten journal. ‘We soon realised that we were working on a series of basic, graphic images that taken as a whole, could be read as a kind of visual alphabet. The work as produced in a spirit of play and learning-as-we-went, therefore this idea reflects the spirit in which it was produced.’

Posters for a lecture series by Mark El-Khatib and Ray O’Meara emphasised discussion and dialogue over the lecture itself. Letterpressed from a laser cut stencil, unexplained terms are handwritten onto the posters, highlighting discussion points.

Oscar Bauer’s piece Forest (wood) on Exhibition table (wood) shows a black and white fine-drawn illustration projected onto a natural-toned wood panel – creating a distinction when the projection appears directly onto the wood.

Daniel Frost built a set for his children’s book based on an imaginary friend, complete with two houses and a tree, all drawn and coloured in the same style as his illustrations.

Molly Kyhl and Nazareno Crea created a graphic tabletop in black, white and red based around the ever-more complex traffic signage found on today’s roads.

Nazareno Crea had also collaborated with Oscar Bauer on an ambitious project for side panelling applied to a London bridge. The applied graphic would be 150 metres long and 2.2 metres high and appear as if a window with the sky shining thorough it.

The system of the design allows for a figurative effect when viewed from afar and abstract when seen close up. Created with a series of squares that mimic the appearance of clouds when seen by pedestrians. The long sky will be painted directly onto the bare concrete of each parapet panel, not hiding its industrial nature.

Jo Glover has been working on a project based on the Prime Meridian Line for some months and has produced a series of one minute time lapse films – each made from 1500 stills shot during sunrise, facing south at various points along the Meridian line. To date, Jo has been to Peacehaven, Bluntisham, Greenwich, East India Quay, Spain and France and will be visiting Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso and Togo during January 2010.

Owain Thomas has produced a narrative series focused around a character who is unhappy with his life and looks to discover what’s missing. The series is in three parts; an introductory written narrative, a series of paintings that represent the journey of the character and a concluding piece of writing. The work will culminate with a book, and even possibly a moving image piece.

Royal College of Art
Jean Jullien
Mark El–khatib
Oscar Bauer
Daniel Frost
Molly Kyhl
Jo Glover
Owain Thomas

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