Premiums: Interim Projects 2015 at the Royal Academy of Arts

Premiums: Interim Projects is an annual showcase of the works of emerging artists, currently midway through their prestigious three-year postgraduate course at the Royal Academy. The course is designed to cater for the individual needs of the artists – each is given the opportunity to showcase pieces for the first time. There is a variety of mediums on display including painting, sculpture, and video, which demonstrate the breadth of talent and ideas coming forth from a course with no set curriculum.

While there is little coherence between the themes of these pieces, they do share in displaying fresh new perspectives. There is something very modern in each of them, whether in the particular form they take, their subject matter or the style. There is experimentation and the merging of techniques and technologies to create not only unique artworks, but also new potential ways in which to actually produce art.

In Robin Seir’s work, there is a regimented modernity emerging through sharp geometric patterns. On the other hand, there’s the abstract androgyny of Tom Worsfold’s Afternoon Haircut. Warm reds and pinks are also patterned here to form a striking image that is clear and ambiguous at the same time. With other collage pieces, there is some rationality to how they have come together, both through contrasting colours and how shapes are wedged. Neill Kidgell’s work seems to conceal what is beneath the surface, forcing you to search beneath the smeared paint for some meaning.

Video and digital pieces are prominent, with Claire Undy, Molly Palmer, Gery Georgieva, and Elliot Dodd all playing with these formats. This is testament to how technology is affecting the way that art is made, portrayed and interpreted by audiences. Exciting technological developments mean that the possibilities of new innovation in ideas about art are endless.

What becomes clear from all these pieces is a sense of how each artist works, their thought processes. While we may not be able to discern their precise motives, it is clear that each choice is deliberate and well thought out, thus making their effect all the more impressive. If this is an example of what these artists can do when given free rein and support to explore their creativity, then it is a glowing commentary on the future of art.

Yassine Senghor
Photos: Simon Crow

Premiums: Interim Projects is at the Royal Academy of Arts until 11^th  March 2015, for further information visit here.