Newcastle University Student Exhibitions

11 November 2024

Are You Coming Home?

12th November – 26th November 2025

A joint exhibition of paintings by Sophie Keys and Sandy Kiralawella, exploring themes of domestic space, personal history and queer identity.

Notes on Sophie’s work –

Sophie’s current artistic practice delves into the intimate interactions between light and domestic spaces. This exploration stems from a desire to understand how a living environment can evoke a spectrum of emotions, reflecting and shaping our identities, relationships and sense of belonging. Central to their work is the inspiration drawn from fellow queer artists, particularly the concept of the queer household.

Each piece explores the interplay of light within these domestic environments, using colour and texture to evoke feelings tied to comfort and isolation; they hope to create an experience that invites viewers to reconsider their own relationships with domesticity and the emotional weight it carries.

 

Notes on Sandy’s work –

Sandy’s work takes more of a visceral approach in discussing lived queer experience. Working on unconventional material (namely his ex-lovers t-shirts, his estranged fathers chinos and the kitchen cupboard of the house he grew up in) he aims to question what it means to be a ‘man’ and what has influences society to create certain tropes around manhood and sexuality.

One such trope is religion – a motif carried across all of the pieces presented in this show. Simultaneously inspired by photos taken in churches across Europe, and self-portraits taken in little to no clothing, the brash religious imagery invites viewers to consider how the cross, and the institution that upholds it. as created ‘sinners’ who needed to ‘repent’.

 

The exhibition photographs found below are courtesy of Sandy Kiralawella.

From a Single Thread

26th November – 5th December 2025

An exhibition organised by Kathryn Lunt and Alice Johnson on behalf of The Newcastle University Textile Forum.

The Newcastle University Textiles Forum has run a new project, in which artists were challenged to transform the same square of calico fabric into an artwork reflecting their own practice while also showcasing the versatility of the textiles. The resulting artworks were displayed in the High Bridge Works reception.

The forum was started to introduce new people to textiles as well as creating a space to share knowledge and techniques. They hold a belief textiles are often overlooked as a medium, especially in fine art education, are therefore are excited to showcase the variety of practices within the textiles field.

 

Exhibiting artists –

Kathryn Lunt, Alice Johnson, Nada Ibrahim, Connie Gaunt, Alban Haysom, Anna Hersey-Swan, Immy Lewis, Molly Sale, Mim Ansell, Phoebe Clark, Anna Robertson, Nell Bown, Cara Barwick, Emilia Talarek

Finding a Path

22nd January – 30th January 2025

This exhibition presents recent work by Lara McFarland, focusing on turning painting away from its 2D presentation and into its more sculptural 3D forms. With these hanging mobile structures, Lara invites you to notice the canvas material itself and how the fabric folds and bends as the different sections hold the weight of each other. In revealing both sides of the canvas, there is no lesser in the unpainted than the painted.

The paintings themselves focus on the harmony between nature and the human form through colour, composition and human figuration within and as the foliage of the landscape. As the paintings twirl on their hanging point and the luminous natural colours fill the gallery, the viewer is encouraged to take time to be still and observe. Finding these figures in the deconstructed landscape hidden across this collage of canvas.

All photographs below are courtesy of Lara McFarland.