The Staffordshire University Fine Art Degree Show is something I'll attend each year. It's the show in which final-year students (mostly from the Stoke campus) show works they've created during their three years. It's a chance for the students to show off something really out-there.
This year was the usual mix of the nutty, the disposable, the mildly inventive and the strangely traditional. The piece in the photo, by Debbie Mills, consisted of a cardboard box, an old rug, and two offcuts of carpet: so, what you see is what you get.
But I was disappointed this year - as I have been for the last three years. The nutty stuff is uninspired, almost mundane, while even the inventive stuff is forgettable. Maybe fine-art just isn't exciting any more; certainly didn't feel like it.
I honestly can't recommend any of it; though I did have a soft spot for Sarah Mellor's interpretation of blues singer Bessie Smith, and Sara Austin's new take on pornography, where all the naked girls' heads were substituted with those of animals.
Both give a new insight to their subject - but is that enough? Sadly, no. I want more!
It's on until the 18th June.
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