Student Work Selected for China Clay Exhibition

Work by two Drawing students has been selected to go on display at Wheal Martin. The exhibition - Artistic Reactions to the Clay Landscape – presents the work of seven contemporary artists, influenced by their artistic reactions to the clay landscape.

Wheal Martyn invited artists from different stages of their careers to explore the transformative effect china clay mining has had and continues to have on the landscape surrounding St Austell and the Clays. The artists ranged from students to professional award-winning artists and ceramicists. Drawing students Anna Claypole and Lee Bates have had their work selected.

Lee said: "This opportunity at Wheal Martyn has given me a fantastic insight into professional practice within a gallery/ museum setting. Opportunities such as these can be hard to come by, even at a later stage in your career, so I jumped at the chance to display and install my work alongside some established and talented artists. It has been an invaluable experience and has without doubt developed my professional practice."

Anna based her piece on a blast shelter: "The blast shelter stood out to me with its copper structure amongst the green wilderness - a man-made sphere juxtaposed with the incredible landscape around it that seemed to be taking it over. Its metal is rusting, decaying and falling apart, and the foliage around it, dead with winter. The trees surrounding will grow their leaves again, but the shelter will continue to break down and disintegrate."

Nikita Brown, Exhibition and Engagement Officer at Wheal Martyn, said: "It has been great to work with such a variety of artists and it has been fantastic for the students to learn from those further on in their career."

The exhibition will be displayed in Wheal Martyn's Atrium in St Austell until Sunday 17 May.

Find out more about BA(Hons) Drawing