Defining art as political in nature comes with its own inherent difficulties. While all art has the potential for wider influence, intentions matter. Social cohesion or disparity, wealth distribution, the pervasiveness nature of constant surveillance or the cultural and inner sources for our outward allegiances; these are just a handful of the themes which our young artists are identifying and voicing through their artworks today.
Employing an array of mediums from the archaic to the state of the art, Alice Woods' contemplative and bold artworks draw attention to the spectrums of power within society with a particular focus on economic and financial institutions, their effects on wider society and the terminologies within them that deserve closer consideration
While not solely focused on scenes and scenarios of conflict, the Brighton-born Central Saint Martins graduate uses an impressive level of painterly skill to highlight the plights of those affected by it. From the front lines to the displaced, aggressors to victims of circumstance Falconer renders with clarity images that evidence the fog of war
Rutgers graduate and Washington D.C. native Nakeya Brown beautifully blends photography and performance to analyse and archive the exercises and traditions within her African-American heritage that in ritualistic form conjure a sense of cultural identity far exceeding and long preceding general societal allegiances
Born to a Jamaican father and French mother and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, the photographer and videographer continues the exploration of cultural themes and identity, and the struggles and emotions borne of ever-changing perceptions on race and the effect these can have on the self and wider society
To see more curated politically inspired artwork please click here.
