While I did not collaborate with other students in a particular piece of work, I did engage in regular discussion with other members of the 'Ruins' group about their work and the exhibition in general. I found this to be a big help when curating the exhibition as I had a vague idea as to what could be expected from the fine artists in the group before officially beginning to set up the exhibition space. By engaging in discussion with other members of the group, who also work in different studios, I found that it offered a fresh perspective when looking at their work and being able to offer advice. Additionally, I found the variety of opinions beneficial in developing my own practice and body of work for Unit X and the exhibition.
By attending all scheduled group meetings with the 'Ruins' group leader, Richard Page, I was always aware of what was happening and they also allowed me to become familiar with photographers and film-makers, which was also a big help when curating the exhibition. During these meetings, I found that as a group we all had similar ambitions for the exhibition. The interdisciplinary nature of working with people from other courses was that it opened up a great deal of discussion about ways to exhibit, and each course was able to offer fresh opinions and advice in response to other courses' work and how best to exhibit it. I learnt a lot about my own work from these group discussions and found that people from other courses suggested directions and possible ways an audience might engage with my work that I had not previously considered.
When it came to curating and setting up the exhibition, the previous discussion and engagement with other members of the group was very beneficial. We had formed good working relationships and found that we were able to work well as a team. As curator, the relationships I had formed with people across the courses were extremely valuable when it came to displaying work because it meant everyone could freely voice what they wanted and discussion was very easy. However, the attendance of a great deal of people in the group was very poor which slowed down the process of putting work up. A possible reason for this might have been the fact that, unlike other groups where attendance was a lot higher, other than curatorial roles, other roles had not been assigned and so possibly people did not turn up simply because they were not aware of what was actually happening. Despite this, those that were there relatively consistently over the three days of setting up worked extremely well together and I in turn really appreciated all their help and advice. Evidence of this could be seen in the way a lot of people arrived with work very late in the setting up process: everything by this point was on display and it was difficult to find space to exhibit their work, and so by discussing and compromising with other members of the group, we were all able to solve this problem.
Overall, the skills I developed during Unit X were extremely valuable as they increased my confidence as an art practitioner and in my ability to work well with other people, as I was previously apprehensive of this aspect of the Unit. I was able to find creative, practical solutions to solving problems and I was very proud of the work and effort I put into the exhibition. The relationships I formed with fine artists which I had not previously in the year will continue throughout my degree and prove to be beneficial should further group work be required. Should there be any criticism or possible improvements about Unit X, it would be that information was not communicated as quickly and efficiently as it could have been. A lot of the information being sent out also could have been clearer. However, in spite of this, I learnt that I was able to work under pressure and quickly make decisions based on the information at hand. I learnt a great deal during Unit X and enjoyed the Unit as a whole.
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