News / 28 Oct 2024

Fine Art students exhibit in surrealism group show

BA (Hons) Fine Art

Paintings by two final year BA (Hons) Fine Art students, William Allan and Holly Tomlinson, are currently being exhibited at Salford Museum and Art Gallery as part of a group show, The Omnipotence of Dream.

The Omnipotence of Dream re-examines Surrealism’s problematic past and reframes those methods within current debates around queer, trans and feminist theory. It highlights the vision of autocratic Surrealist founder, André Breton, but also readdresses the limitations that he established through a lack of inclusivity.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery contains a number of works by British Surrealists who followed the movement’s concepts. The Omnipotence of Dream sees 16 contemporary artists select six works from the collections to produce a direct response.

A section of the exhibition is devoted to Fine Art students from University of Salford and Leeds Arts University who have also created individual responses to the works.

William Allan’s piece 'Butterfly, Relinquish', is one of the works exhibited, which explores the essence of form and ideas of relinquishment, a response to Elisabeth Frink’s ‘Harbinger Bird I’. He explains: “I attempt to strip us down to our base forms, or essence. ‘The horseness of horses; and the divine in human form’, as her work was once described as. Once we relinquish the archaic ideals of old and the restraints of reason, what is the essence of our form. To relinquish wealth, role, gender. Like a butterfly reborn"

“Exhibiting in The Omnipotence of Dream was a lovely experience to be surrounded by incredible works of art from students and contemporary artists, as well as an opportunity to meet practicing artists and talk of our similar artistic concerns and interests regarding surrealism.”

William Allan, BA (Hons) Fine Art student

Holly Tomlinson's piece, 'Fish out of Water (Dreaming of a House by the Sea)', is a response to Marion Adams' painting ‘A Variation on Red'. In the midst of a busy party that dances around her, not with her, she clutches her heart alone in a psycho-surreal depiction of the metaphor of being a ‘fish out of water’. Working with a surrealistic quality, Holly tells us that; "This piece highlights divides within our society whilst maintaining a humorous commentary on our surreal existence; how, despite our divides, humanity is nothing more than sophisticated fish through the eyes of evolutionary history."

"I was thrilled to get involved with the exhibition The Omnipotence of Dream; able to be featured amongst spectacular artists both contemporary and historical. For the centenary of the Manifesto of Surrealism, being selected as a part of this sensitively curated show readdressing the problematic past of Surrealism and proposing a new Surrealist manifesto suitable for today's climate was a great honour."

Holly Tomlinson, BA (Hons) Fine Art student

The Omnipotence of Dream was curated by Associate Professor Paula Chambers, BA (Hons) Fine Art Subject Leader, and Research Fellow Dawn Woolley, as well as David Hancock and Angela Tait.

The exhibition runs until 23 February 2025.

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