Reflection on Art of Norwich 21 Exhibition

This is my first time exhibiting in the Church of Art and actually visiting their Art Of Norwich Exhibitions. I understood it was primarily used by artists wishing to sell their work and not only exhibit. My exhibit is the only one not advertising sale, however my pamphlets about the work provide my email and website and therefore, may welcome commissions and/or sale conversation. However, this is not a major concern of mine, as I chose to exhibit for the experience and preparation of the Degree Show.

The majority of artist's work appear quite amateurish with the exception of a few, that seem quite experienced. This juxtaposition in quality begs me to wonder where my work fits in so I questioned attendants (without revealing my relationship to the exhibition) and most people were unaware of the immaturity in the work presented and found most work quite appealing. After further enquiry, some explained they found my and another artist's work the most successful and a few explained, the others' works could only work in an Art Fair type setting and not in a prestigious gallery.

For documentation purposes, I photographed my exhibit and noticed more clearly the reflections of the Church's stain-glass and regular windows. I was quite pleased with this as the concept of reflection was being literally absorbed into the exhibition, allowing the viewer to be emerged into the work, physically through the reflections. Also, the Church reflections are interesting because Sean (the subject in the work) has a deep respect for Church and reverence for his Christian faith. To this day, not being able to attend Mass is the only thing that will truly upset him. Otherwise, he is more accepting with most interruptions to routine.

The camera lens is different to the human eye, as it sees the whole picture for the viewer and allows the viewer to see the subject differently. The human eye allows us to be subjective in what we look at. When looking at the exhibition, the content of the photographs are more relevant and noticeable, whilst the camera forces us to see the reflections in the glass of the framed photographs.

Art Of Norwich 21 "The Reflection of Self and Societal Image" Exhibit, Anne-Marie Gray, 2012