Hidden, RCA

Venue

Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art, Battersea, SW11 4AN

When

Audience

Open to the Public

Category

Exhibition

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The RCA’s technical staff have a wealth of skills knowledge as staff and students know well – from an award-winning photographer, to Lady Gaga’s shoe designer. To the outside world, these remarkable talents are hidden away. Hidden celebrates some of their most innovative creative work. The week-long exhibition will showcase work by over 40 technicians across the College, including an exciting mix of jewellery and textile design, painting and sculptures, as well as handmade bespoke cars and interactive virtual realities.

Hidden will showcase many well-known designers and artists including Natacha Marro, a world-renowned shoe designer. Celebrated for wild and visually striking Bubble Shoes, Marro has worked with clients including David Bowie, Grayson Perry, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and Olivia Newton-John.

Finnish textile designer Jonna Saarinen will showcase new large-scale prints and drawings. She graduated from the RCA in 2011 and works as a printed textile technician. Within her personal practice Saarinen specialises in screen-printed textiles and brightly coloured kitchenware. Her beautifully handcrafted work explores the natural beauty of Nordic nature and the nostalgia of growing up on the Finnish Archipelago.

Simon Ward, a photography technician at the College, is also showing some new large-scale print work. Ward graduated from the RCA in 2007 and went on to win the Man Photography Prize in 2009. His huge and vividly explicit Still Life series of dead animals demands instant attention. These high-impact images are flatbed scans of animals, so sharp that every hair, whisker and skin texture pulsates with life. Ward’s beautiful and memorable series of prints are displayed in unusual spaces around the gallery adding to the joy of stumbling upon such vivid images.

Ian Whittaker, a senior metalwork technician, will be showcasing his impressive range of meticulously handcrafted full-scale cars. Whittaker has been building his own cars and scooters since the age of 17 and gained an MA in Design Futures at Goldsmiths University before moving to the RCA.

Hidden is a unique opportunity to see the range of work produced by the talented technical staff that are the backbone and support for many of the students at the RCA. Organised and curated by Ailsa Sinclair, Hidden promises to be a highlight of the Royal College of Art’s annual calendar of events.

Contributing Artists: