Foundation Art and Design - Swansea College of Art UWTSD

Emily Birolini

Another date with Doris

Doris (mask in thermoplastic) and I underwent three weeks of intense radiotherapy. She was both my captor and my protector. Trapped during treatment, I escaped in my mind to beautiful places in nature. Once outside, I walked barefoot on the grass, paddled in the sea and hugged trees, connecting with the life force around me.

Inspired by David Hockney’s Arrival of Spring, I filmed the same tree every day as it came into leaf. The tree flourishing represents a symbol of life, renewal and hope.

Artemis
Theme: The Intersection of Motion and Anti-gravity

This work is a sensory journey where the laws of physics meet the poetry of motion. Directly rooted in the tradition of Kinetic Art, Artemis also breathes with the spirit of Land Art, born from my personal experiments with nature and space. At its heart lies an organic structure woven from wicker—a material that grounds the piece in the earth even as it seeks to escape it.

To truly experience the installation, the observer must embark on a deliberate path: a narrow trail intricately crafted from seashells and delicate twigs. As you walk this path, your presence becomes the catalyst for the art itself. Each step unintentionally stirs a sprawling web of threads that envelops the space. This subtle vibration awakens a chorus of bells, filling the air with ethereal chimes, while the central figure—a form reminiscent of a weightless astronaut—begins to sway. Suspended in a state of perpetual levitation, it drifts as if freed from the shackles of gravity.

The final form of Artemis has been deeply shaped by the masters of environment and movement. It draws from the meditative walks of Richard Long and the spatial poetry of Sławomir Brzoska, while channelling the delicate equilibrium of Alexander Calder’s mobiles and the wind-swept, mechanical life of Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests. In this space, gravity is no longer a force, but a memory.

Theo Owen

The process of ‘generating’ a piece of work is different for every artist, something that is uniquely human about art, and cannot be truly replicated by generative AI.

This piece was made by breaking down the steps of making a traditional acrylic painting - sketching, gesso, base colours, and then details, shown layer by layer.

I looked artists Refik Anadol, Karla Ortiz and Kelly McKernan.

Eden Williams

For me, ‘generate’ meant creating multiple responses.
Each response reflects a date in which (what I consider to be) a life-changing event transpired. I have worked with a variety of materials and processes that align with the context of the date each piece is centred around.

I have been particularly inspired by On Kuwara and his ‘date paintings’.
I also took influence from the layout of Rene Magritte’s ‘The Treachery of Images’.

Dominic Strugnell

For ‘generate’, I first explored the etymology of the word (origen). To regenerate or repurpose, to take an old project and adapt it, was my hook in which to create a new version of an existing concept.

This has involved creating a costume of Boba Fett as he appeared in the Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 6. Part of this experimentation involved finding new and additional ways to develop the costume.

Using a variety of mixed media such as 3d printing, sewing and painting I have taken processes I have learned since the previous incarnation along with some new ones such as creating texture with grout or metallic finish with graphite powder to elevate my work while staying true to the original costume.

My main influence was Legacy effects, the group who reinvented the original costume (made by ILM in the 80s). Legacy effects reinvented this notorious character while also paying homage to their predecessor's work.

Catrin Morris

Energy Vortex

Energy is all around, it consumes us and we consume it. It’s not just about electricity but the spiritual energy fields we create.
Energy Vortex represents the intangible constructs of the energy that surrounds us physically and emotionally. In this work I have used 3D sculpture and the power of light.

My decision to incorporate electrical installation into my art has stemmed from my research into artists such as Haroon Mirza, Dan Flavin and Nancy Holt who all play with themes of electricity and energy within their practice.

Cai Rowlands

An artist’s life is spent generating work. The body is a muse found throughout history. This piece is an admiration for the true foundation of art: our bodies.
This work uses a mix of spot welding, sewing, and felting. With these processes I have further twisted woven, and stabbed the material, in an animalistic manner.
I was inspired by the artist Do Ho Suh, who uses a similar mix of metal and semi-transparent fabric, to connect the audience to the mundane, and overlooked.

Beverly Marmont-Hill

Through ‘generate’ I have explored how ideas emerge through transformation, repetition, and experimentation. I have explored new forms, meanings, and allowed narratives to surface through active making and re making through the quiet momentum of stitching.
I have generated new work by transforming reclaimed, recycled and charity shop textiles. Through cutting, stitching and reworking, I create forms that emerge from sustainable making and continual experimentation.
Bispo do Rosário’s devotional textiles and Grayson Perry’s layered narratives guide me to generate work from humble materials, creating stitched stories shaped by memory, humour and lived experience.

Tess Evans

For ‘generate’ my initial thoughts related to cognition. I thought about how we evoke words and images in our minds daily, and how these generate shifting, evolving memories of the past.

Working on MDF board with oil paint, I experiment with space, surface, and layering, using blurred and overlapping imagery to reflect the unpredictability and ambiguity of thought. The aim is to create a landscape based on childhood experiences and the hidden stories within them.

Focusing on childhood helps me come to terms with new responsibilities and confront fears about the future, while also exploring nostalgia, curiosity, and adventure. I was particularly inspired by Sue Williams’ work, combining rough paint marks with vivid colours to creating fragmented reflection through space and composition.