Prints, portraits, and a red carpet – Dundee’s art heritage supports a new generation of artists’ work
Published On Tue 22 Aug 2017 by Cara Longmuir
The legacy of Dundee’s artistic past is supporting outstanding students who are displaying their work at the University of Dundee’s Masters Show this week.
Abi Baikie, Ruaridh Lever-Hogg and Darryl Gowans were this year’s recipients of bursaries from the William S. Phillips’ Fund which helps students of particular talent pursue a Master’s degree at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.
William ‘Willie’ Sangster Phillips was born in Dundee in 1901 and died in 2001 just before his 100th birthday. Art was close to his heart – Willie’s father was Charles Gustav Louis Phillips (1863-1944) whose best known paintings include ‘The Siege of Dundee, September 1651’ which hangs at the entrance to Dundee Council Chambers, and ‘Dundee from Balgay’, in the McManus Galleries.
Since 2003, the William S. Phillips’ Fund has helped over 40 postgraduates in the School of Art and Design with bursaries towards the cost of their studies.
Abi Baikie grew up just outside North Berwick and always wanted to be an artist. Following a few years of studying and working in Dundee she volunteered to go out to Cambodia to teach children English and art. This experience inspired her to return to study art at university, culminating in an MFA in Art and Humanities.
She said, “it’s over 40 years since the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields but the Vietnam War still affects people there. But there is an art culture growing in Phnom Penh despite the poverty - I’m interested in how the arts can give young people a voice and an income. I will be forever grateful to the William S. Phillips’ Fund for making my work possible.”
Her current work uses stunning bold patterns and strong colour inspired by her travels using screen-print, oil painting and stencils. She has already won prizes for her art and exhibited as far afield as the USA.
Ruaridh Lever-Hogg from Roybridge in the Highlands has had a busy year, appearing on BBC’s popular ‘The Big Painting Challenge’ while studying for his MFA in Art and Humanities. Diagnosed as deaf when he was two, Ruaridh was fortunate to attend the Mary Hare School for the deaf in Berkshire where his interest in art was encouraged.
He said, “studying at Dundee has really helped me to broaden my perspective and try different things. For my Masters Show I have been exploring the relationship between colour and identity. It is important as I speak through my art – and it speaks for me.”
Being deaf has not held him back. He continued, “You should never stop yourself from seeing opportunities and going for them – there are so many barriers for deaf people but it is always possible to find a way around them. The William S. Phillips’ Award gave me confidence in my work and the courage to keep finding that way.”
Darryl Gowans from Dundee was working in a call centre and going to Saturday life drawing classes before returning to study art full time at the university as a mature student. Receiving the William S. Phillips’ Fund bursary allowed him to develop his conceptual art practice over the course of a MFA degree in Art, Society and Publics. His work for the Masters Show is a remarkably bold and witty piece called ‘Red Herring’ – a partially unrolled red carpet at the Cooper Gallery entrance.
Darryl said, “the red carpet is symbolic of importance and the divine, and the audience must walk on the carpet to enter the gallery. I’m interested how the public interact with my work.”
The trio’s work can be seen at the Masters Show 2017 at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design until Sunday, 27th August.
For media enquiries contact:
Cara Longmuir
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385243
Email: c.z.longmuir@dundee.ac.uk