This evening sees the opening of a new exhibition at Space at the University of Portsmouth with the artist preview of Illustrated Menagerie. The exhibition is an extension of a project from the first year of the BA (Hons) Illustration course where students select and research an animal of their choice, aiming to illustrate what it is about the animal which catches their interest.

Senior Lecturer, Nicola Hay, runs both the academic project and the Illustrated Menagerie itself which gathers examples of the works produced dating back now to 2009. She describes the unit as:

“A really vibrant, informative, exciting project to work on with the students. The subject matter is always enjoyable and I learn something new and often rather weird every year.”

“I set up the Illustrated Menagerie initially because so many wonderful illustrations, 3 dimensional pieces, sketchbooks, animations and prints were produced every year that I wanted to record them, and gradually this grew to quite an extent so I put it online for the students to be able to see. We got quite a following with the online blog, so the next move was to try to include local artists also exploring this subject matter.”

The Menagerie is thrilled to invite on board local artists My Dog Sighs and Los Dave who have been commissioned to work on the project. As well as producing pieces for the exhibition, the pair will also be delivering a public lecture regarding their working methods and processes, a central theme to the initial project.

Third year student, Jordan Baines, who also has his work in the exhibition, says: “It’s a great opportunity for another audience to see my work, I primarily make artwork for myself, and if I can influence, inspire, excite or inform someone along the way then that’s great! The animal kingdom is such a wondrous and diverse place. So an exhibition dedicated to celebrating those we share this place we call home, is very fitting and worthwhile.”

Exhibition Dates: 2nd to 27th February, 2015, 9am – 5pm weekdays.
Meet the Artists: 30th January, 2015, 4pm – 7pm.
Public Lecture: 11 February, 3pm, EW1.11, FREE, book your place via Eventbrite HERE.

Space, Eldon Building, Winston Churchill Avenue, PO1 2DJ.

To see more of what inspired the ‘Illustrated Menagerie’ exhibition, please visit: www.illustratedmenagerie.blogspot.co.uk