Assessments and such

Last week I finished my course here in London. It culminated in a small set up of my work, to be marked by two tutors while I was absent. My work was then to be left up for the private view (meaning, everyone gathers in the studios-turned-exhibition-space, drinks free alcohol and waffles about the uselessness of everything), along with all the other exchange students and second years. Here’s a picture of my set up:

Um... yeah.

Anyone who knows what Curtin assessments are like is probably scratching their heads. Basically, back in Perth, we set up ALL the work we’ve made for the semester, and then have a review, where we discuss our work with 2 tutors and the rest of our class (usually). It was much different here. First of all, there were ‘space restrictions’. We were asked to only hang one significant piece, along with an artist statement, and all our supporting research (visual diary, failed works, etc) to be neatly piled below. As you can see from the photo above, the space restrictions didn’t really end up being much of an issue, but I complied anyway because I’d already decided which piece I wanted to hang, and it was small anyway. I’m also not sure how we receive feedback for our work... I’m going to email my tutor in a week or two if I haven’t heard anything. At Curtin it’s pretty straight forward – you get a scribe to take notes for you during the review, and you receive the tutors remarks and grades within a few weeks. I’m not sure if it’ll be the same here, especially since I wasn’t present for the actual marking, and have had no critical feedback for the whole semester. Anyway, I’m glad I’ve finished my course here. I’m looking forward to getting back to Curtin and feeling motivated, a little stressed, and most of all, productive. Here I felt stressed, but it was more a case of being stressed with aimlessness that I felt within the course. I don’t feel entirely satisfied with the work I’ve produced here – it’s been good, and it’ll be a great springboard for when I get back to Perth, but ultimately there’s been no blood, sweat, and tears, which generally leads to some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment towards the end of semester. This last week felt like a bit of an anticlimax.

I’m currently in Glasgow, enjoying my last week and a bit in the UK. Glasgow is beautiful, and I’m loving my hostel  - it’s big and old, yet cosy at the same time.

As you can see, it’s probably haunted. But, I’ve checked under beds (no grabby ghosts) and since there’s no elevator, no chance of a blood monsoon... so perhaps there’s nothing to worry about.

I’ve only been here a day, and already I can feel myself getting excited for travelling again. I’ve been all down-in-the-dumps lately because I’m sad about leaving London for good, but being here, seeing new things and doing new things (as opposed to being in a routine and/or procrastinating) has re-energised me a little bit. It’s got me looking forward at what’s to come, as opposed to what I’m leaving behind.