3rd year, Spring 2009. A work-in-progress.
MY ART UNI IS BETTER THAN YOURS is a hilarious look at the stereotypes of the students from the different Universities Of The Arts London. No university is spared—from Central St. Martins “Pretentious Little Shits” to Camberwell College of Arts “Hobo Not Boho” –this project presents the general stereotype of the people of these fine institutions, and then attempts to bring a more balanced view on the subject by investigating the truth (or lack of) behind these stereotypes by interviewing the students themselves and photographing the elements of their surroundings. Presented in a mock prospectus, this project informs you of the things the university prospectus doesn’t tell you—such as how art school is for some a vehicle for an aspirational lifestyle.
This project began, as many great works do, in intoxication—one night, inspired by the slogan t-shirts of Katherine Hammett, and the resurgence of slogan tees as demonstrated by Henry Holland’s fashion groupie t-shirts, 3 students, fuelled by a sense of superiority and alcohol, conceived slogans dissing the other University of The Arts London universities (These 3 students were from Central St. Martins). Of course, to be fair, slogans for Central St. Martins had to be written as well. Initially these slogans were meant to just provoke and to instigate a turf war between the different universities, but there was more potential to the project. I had wanted to expose truth with the device of stereotypes and slogans. This project now goes further, instead of presenting the opinion of a single person, this project gives the subjects of the stereotyping a chance to explain away or further reinforce these provocative statements. Interviews will be conducted, visits to the campuses made, and documentation of the students there.
The concepts explored are herd-mentality, aspiration, cliques, and labelling. Are these stereotypes unwittingly formed, or are these people naturally gravitating towards the affectations of these cliques to find a sense of belonging and to discover something in themselves?
