Class of 2018: Emily Chapman

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Teesside University

At the start of my degree my work was centred on the environment but more specifically, human interaction and the way the world is affected by people. Through my time on the course I began researching ideas around the corporeal and an interest in identity and the human body began to emerge. This is the concept that I am currently developing with my sculptural work.

My degree show will be made up of a collection of pieces that explore identity through hybrid constructions which draw upon human and animal forms. I often use these in conjunction with found objects to create sculptures which focus on notions of identity, physicality and sexuality. I use an assortment of materials from plaster, resin and fiberglass, to steel rods and soft textile materials such as nylon tights. The juxtaposition of textures and surfaces creates an unsettling mix of humour and visceral identity politics.

For me, the aim of my degree show is to encourage people to think about their own identity and how they interact with the world around them. I want the audience to feel unsettled by my work and question their relation to it. Much of the work is open-ended allowing viewers to make their own interpretation of the objects.

As an artist, I hope to be able to use this show to demonstrate my ability to work with a variety of mediums. My work was recently shortlisted for the Cheeseburn North East Young Sculptor of the Year 2018 award and this process has really informed the work I have been doing for my degree show, particularly in terms of the sense of scale.

My plan after graduation is to go on and study my masters in fine art and further my skills, and I plan to do this full time. I have applied to do my master’s degree at Teesside University and would like to continue exploring identity and producing work that intrigues the viewer.

Degree show: 14-25 May. www.tees.ac.uk/

Images:
Emily Chapman, Unititled, 2018.