Further information about all the Graduates are available on the School of Media, Arts and Imaging web page.

Graeme Plunkett

(21), from Dumfries & Galloway - Time Based Art
`Enhanced Birdcage'
A general interest in birds has led Graeme Plunkett to create an `enhanced birdcage' which provides a stimulating setting for his canary `Pepperpot', who in turn can create a musical `performance' by setting off a variety of sensors in the cage.

Graeme's birdcage is modelled on a standard pet shop model but with a range of additions. "The sensors in the cage set off a variety of musical sounds, simulated birdsong and other noises," explained Graeme.

"This creates the idea of `environmental enhancement', which is an area scientists have been working in to create stimulating environments for animals, particularly those held captive in zoos.

"At a different level, the cage also becomes an instrument for the bird as different sounds are triggered."

The project also mirrors the sensory instruments we fill our own homes with in an effort to keep ourselves stimulated. "We have televisions and radios and so on, which are an example of how we enrich our own environments. This is applying the same logic to the bird's cage."

Nadia Rossi
(22), from Glasgow - Time Based Art
"The recycling centre has become like a library to me," says Nadia Rossi, who has found society's cast-offs to be a rich source of inspiration. "I think there are traces of human existence attached to all these found objects, and from these come stories and all sorts of new ideas."

Nadia's degree show exhibit sees those ideas realised in a space that mixes a range of media including live performance, video installations, and a series of art books. Visitors to Nadia's exhibit will also be strongly encouraged to become a part of the piece by joining in with the live performance.

"Myself and some friends I've roped in as helpers will be performers hidden behind screens but with our hands visible through a series of holes. We won't be able to see our hands but will be carrying out a number tasks and people should feel free to ask us to do things and see how we manage. There is an element of humour in this and hopefully people will get into it. There will also be a viewing platform so they can see how we react to the challenges that are set for us."

Nadia (22), who is from Glasgow, is planning to return to New York to work with the Electronic Arts Intermix media arts centre after graduation, following an internship she completed there in 2007.

Amy Scott Murray and
Kevin Adams
Animation
Amy Scott-Murray who lives in Edzell and Kevin Adams from Forfar, have worked together on a short animated documentary 'The Luminous Deep'. During this 3-d short, we learn the fate of a dead whale that sinks to the darkness of the seabed, and how its carcass can come alight by nourishing a huge interconnected community of bio-luminescent scavengers and predators. Aswell as showing in Dundee Degree Show this film can be seen at Aberdeen Maritime Museum in the exhibition 'Deeper Than Light' until 30 July. Combining scientific fact, thanks to the assitance of researchers at Aberdeen University's Oceanlab, with beautiful visuals, the work appeals to all ages. Both animators hope to become freelance on graduation. http://www.theluminousdeep.com.

Laura Whyte
Animation
Along with classmates Mairi Steele, Shaun Gordon and Arthur Cook, Laura has produced a humorous, hand-drawn animation. The romantic story, entitled 'Chasin Tail' follows a street mutt with his eye on a glamorous lady. Slapstick antics occur as he traces her through the streets but there is a twist in the tale with a surprising finish. Laura hopes to become a concept artist, developing characters for others to use. www.voodoobeans.org/tail.

Jordan Butler
Illustration
26 year old Jordan Butler from Dundee has a passion for vinyl records. At the beginning of her project she bulk bought two hundred 7 inch singles going cheap at Dundee record store Grouchos. She then melted them with anything to hand - boiled kettles, hairdryers - even putting them in the oven. The shapes they formed reminded her of flowers and shells, inspiring her to make a series of books. The first, 'Botanical Vinyl', uses the inner sleeves of singles as pages of the book; each with drawings of the melted record shapes on them. In contrast the last book in the series is designed to be flicked through as if you were selecting a record from a crate. Butler believes her work brings to attention a tactile quality and physical weight missing in a music generation brought up on MP3's and other weightless commodities, where smaller is better. She hopes to be accepted to do a MSc Communication Design at Duncan of Jordanstone after graduation.

Mandy Tait
Illustration
Originally from Shetland, now living in Alloa, Mandy Tait is an artist who is pre-occupied with faces and how we recognise them. Science has proven that our brain recognises a face by breaking it down into a pattern. Mandy brings this fact to light by combining portraiture with eye test charts, such as combining a portrait of a baby with the circles of The Ishihara Colour Test - a test for colour blindness. With an eye to combining art and science, Mandy hopes to be accepted on School of Life Sciences and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art's Forensic Art MSc course.

The School of Media Arts and Imaging

Animation, Illustration, Time Based Art

At the heart of a vibrant contemporary art culture, Media Arts and Imaging explores the rapidly developing audio, visual and interactive technologies and strives to sustain an ongoing investigation into knowledge and the orientation of this burgeoning field. The School continues to reflect and lead significant changes in the way artists and designers use and interact with contemporary media as a means of cultural expression to maintain a creative portfolio of postgraduate and undergraduate programmes including electronic imaging, animation and visualisation, time based art and illustration. Once again, this year's Degree Show promises to include work of the highest standard ever produced from the BA (Hons) Programme.

Head of School: Steve Flack.