— Emma Pearson contributed with this report.
A group of fine art students from the University of Lincoln are this week holding an exhibition at Lincoln High Street’s Arcade shopping centre, as part of the 02 Art Festival.
Students were told to arrange an exhibition and to choose a particular theme as part of their degree coursework. Titled “Globa‘loss’ation”, the exhibition’s key focus is the current economic crisis in the UK and the everyday effects of the recession.
The students will be working on individual pieces with the finishing result being presented on Friday, April 30th.
As a result of the economic climate, the increasing amount of closing shops and buildings led to the exhibition’s key theme. The students decided to use a vacant shop as their exhibition centre in order to reflect the idea that Lincoln has been hit hard by the recession and that change is needed.
The six students aim for the exhibition to draw people’s attention to the unused space in Lincoln, and to encourage residents to engage themselves in the community and react to the current economic climate.
Flora Mackillop, a 20-year-old fine art student, says the group wants to make “people aware of what’s happening [in Lincoln] and to generate interest in the shops and to invigorate the area”.
One piece by Lacey Jenney, named “Brick by Brick”, is a sculpture focusing on the fragile nature of our economy, showing it can fall to its knees in seconds. It was created using receipts and is based upon the concept of Jenga.
The exhibition began on April 26th and will end on April 30th at 5pm.