Central’s Creative Industries Best Recent Graduates 2014

Visual Arts, Jewellery Design, Fashion & Textile Design, Photography,Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Screen & Animation

Sam Balcombe (Fashion Design)Design and art had been a passion of mine since a very young age. When I decided to finally pursue it, I knew that Central was the place to go. The facilities and work spaces are great, as is the support of the lecturers and their extensive knowl-edge in the industry. My graduate collection was inspired by a morbid fascination with the Navotas ceme-tery in the Philippines where 6000 homeless people live among the tombs. Every 5 years the government disrupts these living spaces to make room for the newly dead. I was fascinated with the process of life being born where the dead are buried. I portrayed this through my designs with the layering and draping of the garments.

Gordon Becker (Photography) My time at Central provided me with the up to date knowledge and skills I needed to enter the photogra-phy industry. Learning and bounc-ing ideas off my class-mates throughout the three years at Central was an amaz-ing experience. The lecturers could not have been any more helpful. Through my series of underwater images, I want to invite people into a world where unique moments come and go in the blink of an eye. Any spare moment I have is spent beneath the ocean’s surface looking for new angles, portraying the beauty of this special world to peo-ple who may never venture within.

Craig Bush (Photography)“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the in-visible.” Oscar WildeWe look but we don’t see. It is im-portant to remem-ber that each mo-ment we see will not be captured in the same way, at the same time, in the same place by any other person. That vision which is ours, we own and often share with those around us and they see what we see. And often more. And then we start to see more. Studying enabled me to combine emotive context with the tools and technical skills to indulge in, for me, some important storytelling. And to further establish myself as a professional.

Callum Campbell (Industrial Design)My designs are all derived from pos-ing myself a single question, which helps to define my brief, giving me immediate direction and fo-cus. Whether it be ‘how can I make a flat packable table without the need for fixings or glue’ or ‘can a stool be constructed from a cast metal’, my method allows me to create unique pieces that stay true to my personal minimalist approach while engaging the viewer with intriguing design elements and details. Each piece is also aesthetically influenced by the choice of materials and appropriate construction meth-ods. This helps to reduce the persuasion of current style trends while remaining true to all aspects of the design.

Elly Cernohorsky (Jewellery Design)I am fascinated by the natural world with or-ganic shapes and forms influencing my designs. I have developed a strong passion for enamelling which is apparent in the majority of my works. This technique allows me to explore different surfaces and effects with colour being my favourite element. I aspire to portray a fineness in my pieces which often leads to them being fragile; not unlike nature itself.

Audrey Chey (Visual Arts)My work sets out to capture the emotional response to living in a western society. I have used a variety of tech-niques, such as burning marks on rice paper and painting on scrolls. I like to use Chinese calligraphy; the repetition is meant to link the past to the present, to express the passage of time and the rhythm of my life. I am Chinese, born in Sin-gapore, lived in different countries and settled in Perth. I feel a need to express my roots. Study has given me hope and the freedom to express myself. I was impressed by the course structured and the nurturing lecturers. I am honoured to have been part of Central and feel a strong sense of achievement.

Rose Church (Fashion Design)My graduate collection Un-known, Undocumented was inspired by a Marc Singer doc-umentary, Dark Days, where society’s discarded and disen-franchised fashion a community in an abandoned NYC subway. My love of incor-porating texture as an element in design led to hand-stitch-ing, up-cycled fabrics, manip-ulations and incorporation of traditional Tapa Cloth (beaten & stained bark). My 3 years at Central were demanding but rewarding in the sense that the work pace equipped me with the skills to enter the fast pace industry itself. The lecturers at Central are both mentors and friends, their experiences and the advice shared was relevant and extremely helpful. I loved my time with Central and am very thankful for the opportu-nities it provided me with.

Alana Corr (Fashion Design)I’m so glad I ended up studying at Central – the course covered so much more than I expected. It was really more about exploring ways of being creative with many mediums, not just fabric. It was exciting and challenging but very rewarding to push the bound-aries. I explored the way we treat our bodies in my collection - by transposing the damage we do at a cellular level to show on the outside. Each of my pieces rep-resented a habit or lifestyle choice that in the long-term had damaging consequences for normal cell function and regulation. The application of silicone complemented the organic and cellular aesthetic I wanted to achieve.

Kim Davies (Graphic Design)I grew up as a creative kid, drawing on everything and never knowing you could do it as a job! So I came to Central to pur-sue this as a career. I had no idea how expansive the design industry was and my three years at Central allowed me to explore this and open doors to things I never knew possible. I’ve seen a huge development in my work and skills. I learnt the tricks of the trade and developed my own personal style, which I hope to share in the industry. I’m hoping to travel and absorb more design culture.

Ruth Casey (Jewellery Design)I fell in love with Cen-tral as the place to fur-ther my studies. Three years later and I am not disappointed; the facilities are mag-nificent and I met sev-eral life-altering lectur-ers along the way. The skills I learned have already given me a fab-ulous head start. I am now delighted to be teaching jew-ellery myself. My inspiration comes from looking towards the sky. The sky is not the limit, but far beyond. The universe is full of beauty, chaos and colour. And that is exactly what I strive to create in my jewellery with the use of enamel, repetition and gemstones. My next plan is to create a series based on images from the Hubble Telescope.

Lara Dudney (Interior Design)Through my studies, my skills developed from hand drawing images and rendering in pen-cil, to creating 3D computer rendered visuals. I found this a really exciting journey and it has shown me that there are no boundaries as to what you can achieve. My studies also taught me to look at the world in a different way and I am now a lot more aware of my surroundings. I enjoy creating spaces which consider the end user and enhance their experi-ence. My inspiration is to put life into spaces, creating truly individual spaces, defining my own trends and ap-plying sustainable solutions.

Amy Farrell (Graphic Design)Before coming to Central I was secondary art teacher. I wanted to enrich my skills and chose to come to Central for practical hands-on learn-ing. I worked with circus as a theme to create a set of post-ers, program and collectors cards for the International So-ciety of Typographic Designers Student Assessment. I created Gitano, a travelling fortune telling festival with a series of fortune telling characters. I took visual inspiration from the caravans, colours and patterns of the travelling for-tune tellers in Europe during the late 1800s to early 1900s. The typography and layout is reminiscent of stark, strong block lines used in Eastern Europe during this period. I referenced Romany cultural traditions and the Roma flag in the logo.

Blandine Hallé (Jewellery Design)Before studying at Central I did a lot of photography. I like to view the world around me as in the viewfinder of a camera. Through this process of framing, I play with the re-lationships of lines, colours, shapes and textures to create images that I then translate into jewellery or assemblages. I am inspired both by na-ture and its organic forms as well as by the urban environ-ment, its geometric and industrial design. My studies have enabled me to explore so many techniques and opened up a whole world of possibilities for my artwork. Being taught by industry professionals is also a fantastic oppor-tunity to network.

Julie Holmes (Jewellery Design)Central has been a con-tinuation of a creative journey that I have been on most of my life. It is the place where I have been able to achieve the goals I set at the beginning of this journey and I am now confident of my skills. I achieved one of my goals with my graduate collection being accepted by e.g.etal Contemporary Jewellery Gal-lery in Melbourne. My next goal is to produce my own jewellery label, staying true to the handmade aspect of my work. Ancient cultures, traditions and rituals form the basis of my exploration. African art and tribal traditions inspire the way I shape my designs.

Alana Lindsay (Visual Arts)My works are descriptive of how people disengage them-selves from one another with the ever dominant digital communications. Using un-edited text messages and a mobile phone in conjunction with other media, I have established the physical as a presence lacking in digital communication and asserted the importance of body lan-guage. I like to sculpt, draw, paint, photograph toward the end production of digital works. Going on to complete my BA, I greatly appreciate the platform my lecturers pro-vided. Such open minded and inspired established artists as lecturers are a valuable asset.

Danielle Morris (Interior Design)

Being involved in Interior Design satisfies my constant desire to make things look beautiful. It allows me to give back to the world because ‘beauty is a joy of life’. I have always been a creative person … I love to indulge in all things design. I believe Interior Design can make a difference in people’s lives; it can change a person’s out-look. Creating beautiful spaces is a true gift you can give someone. My experience at Central was challenging but rewarding to see the growth in myself and my abilities from beginning to end. The most enjoyable thing for me was being surrounded by like-minded people and learn-ing from one another.

Toyah Scott (Visual Arts)I came to Central to acquire technical skills and I have. But I’ve also been given the skills to seek out the infor-mation I need to make the work I feel is important. I am excited to be continuing my studies at university, but impatient to get out there and start working and showing independently. My work centres on people and the images and information that affect our relationships with others and with ourselves. Recently I have been focusing on the female body and the role of advertising in the building of self image. I like to work with found objects reconfiguring them to suggest a different perspective.

Tami Xiang (Photography)Photography serves as my diary. It is that intimate place that I can tell my story and come to terms with myself. It shows the journeys of my past, records my present and defines the path to my future. It provides me with sanctuary and relief. According to Chinese legend, Nüwa is the goddess who created humans. For this series I chose to incorporate nudity, it symbolizes the vulnerability and helplessness of females living in a society where control is paramount. The nude is still a taboo subject in con-servative China and so it is symbolic of my rebellion and rejection of the feudalism system of control.

S c r e e nThis group of talented emerging filmmakers are ready to make their mark on Australian film & TV. Their 5 collab-orative films are the result of many long hours in pre-pro-duction, shooting & locked away in the dark confines of the editing & sound suites. Producers - Cameron De Vries, Emily Calder, Caroline El Chami, Nate Strider-Knight, Travis Murton; Directors – Akio Fujimitsu, Kate Manson, James Treweek, Phuong Nguyen, Callan Manners; Directors of Photography – Ol-ivia Dhimitri, Reece Bagrowski, Maxwell Penny; Editors - William Rowe, Nick Peters, Macauley David; Produc-tion Designers – Christopher Bannister, Jake Inglis; Sound Designers – Matthew Tilson, Rowan Haynes

A n i m a t i o nDigital Art, in all its forms, is a passion for these grads. They have polished their technical skills, stretched their imaginations and developed their styles. The work can be challenging but the results are inspiring. In 2013, three Advanced Diploma students were snapped up for positions in industry with Ivan Fanning now working for Last Pixel and Ariane Torelli and Caitlin Bathgate both working at STW 9 as graphic artists and animators. The majority of the students from AdvDip participated in work experience programs that has, for many, led to paid employment. The local industry has a strong asso-ciation with our grad students and this is solely because of the high skill levels our students bring to the table.

Gallery Central10 April - 3 May 2014

12 Aberdeen St, Perth www.gallerycentral.com.au

Shannon Riddle (Industrial Design)My experience at Central has been very rewarding. I have enjoyed studying here, and learnt a lot from my lecturers. My desire is to create objects that benefit humanity, as well as being aesthetically pleasing. I like trying different materials, while pushing the limits of what you can do with them, but also being honest in the use of materi-als. The inspiration for my work comes from nature, new technology, and the way people interact with the objects around them. In 2014 I am continuing my studies in In-dustrial Design at Curtin University.