Final year project
The Nostalgia of Summer [Read more]
The red you see when you close your eyes (Summer Morning)
oil paint, charcoal, coffee and colouring pencil on canvas, 120 by 120cm
I can feel the grass around me taller than myself (Summer Afternoon)
Oil paint, charcoal, sun cream and colouring pencil on canvas, 170 by 120cm
Un momento en Albarracin (Summer Evening)
Oil paint, charcoal and colouring pencil on canvas, 120 by 105cm
Park dwellers
Acrylic on Paper, 60 by 84cm
Un momento en Albarracin (preparatory painting)
Oil and pencil on canvas, 70 by 100cm
The red you see when you close your eyes (detail)
I can feel the grass around me taller than myself (detail)
Un momento en Albarracin (detail)
Amber Cannings
My work explores the nostalgia of summer through paint and installation. Utilising a myriad of sources, I intertwine my own personal nostalgia of summer (pleasant memories, stories) with more collective elements (colours, objects), so the viewer can relate to the work, while maintaining the personal element.
Through the work, I aim to take the viewer back to the nostalgia of summertime. During summertime, we embrace a simple schedule that becomes more orientated around our circadian rhythms – Our mental rhythms that follow a daily cycle. These rhythms responds predominantly to darkness and light in an environment. This in turn inspired me to create works about 3 key periods of temporality during the summer: morning, afternoon, and evening.
My interest in summer and nostalgia stemmed from my profound experience of studying in Spain for the year, experiencing endless summer weather and a Mediterranean way of life. The work becomes a longing for the preservation of another life, an ulterior homeland. My degree course and my study abroad year have heavily influenced my practice and given me the confidence and skills to continue as a freelance artist, aspiring to work on projects and residencies around the world.
Dissertation
The role of personal memory in the works of Sophie Calle and Laure Prouvost
Final year project
The Nostalgia of Summer
Awards
'20 Diploma in International Studies
'20 Exhibitions - LINE, YOU'VE CROSSED IT, The Welcome Mat, Loughborough University
'19 Surface Spotlight, Surface Gallery, Nottingham
'19 Coordenadas, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain
'18 Art and Technology, The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Coventry
'18 Desperate Optimism, Surface Gallery, Nottingham
Experience
Volunteer work at Surface Gallery, Nottingham
Placements
September 2018 - June 2019
Fine Art Student , Universidad de Zaragoza