REVIEW: Royal Academy School Show

Written by Maddy Chelmis

After over a year of viewing exhibitions through a tiny screen, trying desperately to foster the same connection with an artwork as I would do in person, I have finally step foot inside a real life gallery! This gallery being none other than the Royal Academy where I attended the RA Schools Show, which runs from the 17th June, to the 4th of July. This show was unfortunately postponed last year due to the pandemic, but now it is back and in full swing. Displaying works from 16 postgraduate students concluding their studies at the RA, this show is a perfect opportunity to see the up and coming talent being fostered within those walls. 

Upon entry you are greeted warmly and invited to take a copy of the exhibition programme where a cohesive list of the artists is stored as well as a helpful map to help you traverse the extensive space. Space. This was a crucial and especially captivating element of the show. As well as the intriguing artworks within each room, the clever and calculated use of space throughout the exhibition was equally impressive. With the Academy’s construction being finished in 1668 as a mansion house for the First Earl of Burlington, this building has some beautiful architectural features that enhance the grandeur of the space. Waltzing through each room you glide across partially unveiled parquet flooring that peeks out beneath thick coats of grey paint. Vaulted ceilings with slanted skylights create a vastness in which artworks occupy, allowing beacons of natural light to flood into the space illuminating the white walls. However, some artists manipulated the natural state of these rooms in order to accommodate their pieces. For example, some rooms needed to eliminate the dazzling light pouring in through the skylights…so they blacked them out. Other pieces needed muted acoustics so were installed in rooms with low ceilings and the walls were painted a darker colour to give the illusion of a smaller space. Each minute detail was considered in this show. Refined is the word. No stone was left unturned and it was evident, the considerate curation of this exhibition does not go amiss. With the help of the map it is very easy to meander your way through the gallery. Entering unmarked doors only to stroll into a room bathed in unsettling darkness, like jumping into a black hole. 

The variety of artwork was astounding, it made me appreciate the complexity of human creativity; how people can conjure up these elaborate ideas and actually execute them. An excellent example of this fact was a piece by Clara Hastrup entitled Fishdriver (run free). As you enter the room you are transported into a different realm. Blue and green lights bathe the space in an ethereal glow, then you are confronted by the massive scale of the piece. Hastrup had occupied an entire room, filling the space with a large toy car track that a toy car navigated with a camera attached to it. This footage was then displayed on a screen outside of the room showing the cars journey around the track. In amongst the curving tracks was a plethora of household items including foot-spas, shower heads, kettles, lamps, houseplants, even a pain au chocolat with a plug socket forced into its buttery exterior… Winding extension leads snaked across the floor, Tupperware containing some of the wires. The first descriptor that came to mind was ‘organised chaos’. Despite the absolute absurdity of the set up, I was calm observing it. I found myself naming everything I could see out loud, and even though I could not touch the piece, I felt very involved and immersed within it, as if I was tangled up in the cords myself. I began to think about the process of bringing this piece to fruition. Each minuscule detail was considered, every potted plant was placed with a purpose, each wire laid with intention. I may not have understood the ‘meaning’ of this piece, but I very much appreciated the time and effort put into the construction of it. To top this piece off and to provide some much needed respite from the madness, was a dainty little fish tank positioned in the corner of the room, housing a tiny blue fish with cascading fins, swimming happily in its little tank, blissfully unaware of its non-consensual involvement in an artwork. How peaceful. Overall this artwork did what any good artwork should do, (in my humble opinion) it made me feel something. I felt strangely tranquil. Yet invigorated and excited, my eyes darting frantically, trying to discover and analyse every item nestled in amongst the tracks. Chaotic good. 

Another piece that stood out to me for its somewhat abject nature was Sofia Restorp’s Dust Collection. This is quite literally a collection of dust, collected from the London Underground, displayed elegantly in a glass cabinet. The way it was presented was like how a museum displays treasured artefacts. Each bundle of dust was neatly balled up and placed carefully on acrylic stands that sat protected in a glass cabinet. I was immediately drawn to this piece because of the sheer grossness of it. Restorp had to meticulously gather these masses of dust from the less than sanitary Underground stations and I quite frankly respect that. I enjoy the idea of Restorp setting off on their day with the intention of dust collection, it makes me chuckle. I am also very fond of the idea that each individual dust ball holds its own story. Who’s hair is entangled in there? What’s that shiny thing nestled in amongst the fibres and where did it come from? What station did that bundle get collected from? So many questions no amount of dust can answer! 

I could analyse each artwork for better or for worse, but I’ll leave you to go and explore the exhibition for yourself. I will however comment on what I think this exhibition lacked. Context. I have become a fiend for context as it truly helps me to engage with artworks in a much deeper way. I of course recognise that this exhibition was a degree show, not a solo show of an absurdly famous artist with decades of experience. However, I think it would have been beneficial to include some artist testimonies or wall texts about the individual works in order to facilitate some more meaningful understanding of each piece. I oftentimes feel guilty if I don’t ‘get’ a piece, but slowly I am learning that maybe there isn’t even something I need to ‘get’… maybe all I need to come away with is fulfilment and satisfaction from the pure enjoyment of looking at art. 

In summary, it was incredibly refreshing to finally be in a gallery again. It relit the spark for art I have that was dampened by the virtual equivalent of a gallery. I am looking forward to exploring a whole host of exhibitions and absorbing the creative energy I have somewhat lacked over the past year and a bit. I strongly encourage you to take yourself off to go and see some art. You don’t have to like it or understand it, but go and feel something that was ignited by the creativity of somebody else, it’s magical really.