VCA Graduate Show 08

I know I shouldn't play favourites but.... Kaori Katos' large scale folded paper sculpture entitled Nostalgic Memories really blew me away. Just look at that incredible folded geometric pattern. Beautiful.

Linda Tegg's Dachshund photograph formed part of a series of stunningly captured paddling puppies! The piece was acquired as part of the ANZ Visual Arts award earlier this year.

Hold on / let go installation by Nicole Henderson. Simple but striking.

Still on the end-of-year student exhibition trail, this week I visited the mammoth Victorian College of the Arts graduate show... that's photography, drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture and spatial practice, all under one roof (well, not strictly one roof, but all at the one campus!).

There is honestly so much to see, so if you're only going to get to one graduate show this year, this is the one to see. It's a real mixed bag, and not everything won me over - but amongst the mass of obtuse video art and various renderings of naked female bodyparts, there were some absolute gems. Much of the work is for sale, with price tags mostly between $100-$500 - money well spent if you consider that some of these graduates will be the Ricky Swallows and Patricia Piccininis of tomorrow!

Highlights above and below.

These delicious photorealistic oil paintings by Adrian Stojkovoch were so full of depth and rich colour. My surreptitious photo-taking really doesn't do them justice.... Up close those raspberries are just lush, thick strokes of colour! Amazing. Top - My most inspiring book, Bottom left - Beginning to colour (fish).

More from Adrian Stojkovoch - top left beetroot and endive salad (I think?), and on the right the stunning My Scottish mother's kitchen.

Memorial Projection mixed media and projection by Peter Thomas was one of the more memorable video art exhibits. The scale was grandiose, and I like the combination of projection and collage/mixed media.

Heavily politicised but lighthearted and almost comical in its aesthetic, Rachel Joy's works were the highlight of the Sculpture exhibition. Top - Rachel Joy's cardboard sheep (cannot find the name of this piece I'm so sorry!), and bottom A hard day at the office.

More political commentary from Rachel Joy - this is a handscrawled and almost illegible transcript of Kevin Rudd's apology to Indigeous Australians.

Kooky characters from printmaker Georgia Harris. They remind me of The Yellow Submarine.

Interesting textured prints referencing motherhood and family by Glenn Dalton - top - imprints of baby clothes on textured printing paper. Bottom - nests of varying sizes rest alongside Dalton's prints. (must apologise again I have misplaced some notes with these titles).

Darlington - embroidery on wire flyscreen mesh by Roseanne Johnson in the painting dept.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the work of previous Design Files interviewee Amber Wallis on display! I love this layered paper collage.... again not done any justice by my swift and sneaky photo taking. I think its called Hauraki Gulf/Sing for my life ...?

Lily Martin's Portrait, oil on canvas was part of a series of accomplished portrait studies

Details from a series of detailed oil paintings by Tully Moore called Debris Scenes, documenting various paper collages. Those delicately rendered folds in the paper (top image) are amazing.

VCA Graduate Exhibition 2008
VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery and various spaces on campus
40 Dodds st
Southbank

Monday - Friday 10.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday and Sunday - 12.00noon - 5.00pm

Until November 30th (that's this Sunday!)