RCA PHOTOGRAPHY 2020 : 'With Fists, It Kicks, It Bites'

18 Aug-22 Aug 2020

Overview

The Royal College of Art and associated Fitzrovia galleries are delighted to announce the collaborative exhibition With Fists, It Kicks, It Bites. The exhibition by the 2020 graduating students of the RCA MA Photography course, will be divided across the physical gallery spaces of Edel Assanti, TJ Boulting and Webber Gallery, as well as the beautiful and historical location of The Fitzrovia Chapel. Coming together to support the emerging generation of artists, the galleries are thrilled to be able to present to the public the exciting, assertive and experimental work currently made. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the RCA was one of the first art schools to cancel its physical degree shows and move them to an online presentation. The degree show is not only the opportunity to bring together the culmination of two year’s study and practice, but a chance for students to work together as they transit from students to the outside world. The galleries have recognised how vital the physical degree show is on many levels and have collaborated to stage an exhibition across their spaces for the graduating Photography students. The galleries have previously worked with or represent RCA Photography alumni, in particular TJ Boulting with Dominic Hawgood and Edel Assanti with Noémie Goudal, which is how the conversation on how to help this year’s RCA graduates first emerged and developed. Rut Blees Luxemburg, Tutor in Photography: “The students’ work introduces us to an expanded practice of photography by celebrating the materiality and physicality of the image. The work of this new generation emphasises the critical and experimental engagement with photography as well as the importance of visual pleasure.” Hannah Watson, Director of TJ Boulting and Chair of The Fitzrovia Chapel: “Art schools are the life force of the creative world and produce the next generation of artists. It is imperative that we support them. Whilst in the short term we accelerate towards and embrace all things online, showing the graduates’ work in a physical space feels like a hugely positive achievement for all of us.”