Visual arts students shine at Post Office Gallery

THE work of Federation University’s visual arts students is on display at the institution’s Post Office Gallery.

EYE25 celebrates a range of work from Bachelor of Visual Arts and Honours students such as painting, drawing, ceramics, installation, printmaking, digital photography, animation and mixed media.

Director of the Arts Academy Professor Richard Chew said it was exciting to see the students’ works on display, particularly as the most recent exhibition in the gallery was of the work of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe as part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

“Only in a place like Ballarat can you move from an internationally acclaimed artist like Mapplethorpe to a celebration of emerging local talent – all within the same walls,” he said.

“EYE25 continues that ambition, demonstrating that world-class art doesn’t just visit Ballarat, it grows here.”

The exhibition opened earlier this month with a presentation of wearable art by seven first-year students called Wearing the Self Inside Out: It’s Where You Live.

The original works overlapped fashion and fine art.

Bachelor of Visual Arts course coordinator Jimmy Pasakos said the exhibition was an important way for students to gain practical experience.

“This exhibition gives students a really good grounding in professional practice – and highlights the benefits of the co-op approach by giving students the real-life experience of exhibiting,” he said.

EYE25 is open until Sunday 23 November from 12.30pm until 5pm.