Midpoint at ECA

Upon arrival at ECA's Sculpture Court, the use of the open space is striking: the immediacy of colour on the eyes from the enticing variety of work delivers a great first impression. The Performance Costume department are hugely successful at welcoming the viewer, thanks largely to their central position and irresistible looming mannequins. The inspiring collection of outfits all gently radiate sinister industrialism, occasionally intensified by an unfathomable handling of a cassette tape or a powerful bolt of fuchsia beneath a monochromatic ensemble.

The fashion department attempt to equal the drama by installing conceptual wooden boxes to display their pieces. Whilst this is visually interesting, the outfits become abstracted from their natural context to an extent that makes them almost confusing to the eye. Elsewhere, the charm of Emma Lally’s calendar design gives her piece a magnetic pull. The graphic design student devised a calendar around the idiom “pencilling it in”; a faint collection of outlined months and days that one had to physically pencil in to provide a body for the work.

There was also beauty to be found in the jewellery and silversmithing departments. Kirsty Fraser’s collection of miniscule 3D glasses—all crafted from delicate papers, transparencies and metals—stand out with their lovely balance of sentiment and science. The artist talks of the celestially-inspired piece The Star Behind the Lens as being dedicated to a grandfather she never knew, infusing the work with a touching personal element.

It is also worth mentioning the quiet beauty of Katherine Edwards’ photography series, IRR-Lichter (Stray Light) Goethe. The three photos in the series aim to “explore the elusiveness of light” and did so wonderfully, marrying contextual narrative with a cold, morning light that seemed both refreshing and sharp. Ultimately, the Midpoint exhibition demonstrates the impressively ambitious talents of the college’s third years. Although certain departments outshine others in their execution of professional and emotive work, the overall high standards are quite staggering.