Extra Credit: Alumni Exhibition. Meet the Artists Part 1!

Get to know some of the artists exhibiting in Extra Credit through their own words! Check back here later to hear from the others!

Richie Johnson, Slow Mover

Alanis Smith:

I drew some daffodils from a photograph I took, I did this while waiting for a service user to arrive for their support.

Since graduation I've gotten a new job and because of this it haven't been able to dedicate as much time to my art as I used to, this means I have to do what I can when I can so I don't feel like I'm completely giving up on something that has been a big part of my life for so long. My practice was about making art that people could find relatable in some way and I did this by making based off of my life and experiences. While now I don't make based specifically from my experience anymore, my reasons for making still hold a relatable factor as not everyone is able to keep up with their job, their social life and their interests at the same time.

Beth Evans:

Beth Evans is a multidisciplinary artist, illustrator and writer whose practice is informed by both lived experiences and imagined realities. Centred around change, the themes of their work constantly shifts – an integral element of the fast paced, intuitive nature of their making. However, common threads include mundanity, value and identity. Inevitably, Evans’ works become portraits – conversations – between the artist and their friends. As an individual whose life is fused to their practice, this body of work analyses interpersonal connections, the concept of ‘work’ and the poetics of mundanity whilst simultaneously learning to reduce the risk of emotional burnout by instilling positive habits, like daily walks, into their practice and utilising found materials and stories not only fabrics from their own life. They write under the pseudonym 'Blaike Gillshaw'.

@befmakesart befmakes.com

Nis Murat

Nis Murat recently returned to Plymouth, where they continue to develop their curatorial practice and consider their role within projects. They completed an MA in Curating at UAL Chelsea College of Art, where they refined their approach to curating and gained further technical skills as an AV and install technician.

During their MA, Murat worked with organisations including ArtAngel, OctoberSalon, Peer Gallery, and Chelsea Space, contributing extensively in curatorial and technical roles. Most recently, they curated Cyclical Tensions at KARST’s FENSTER project space, as part of KARST’s volunteer programme, marking their first independent curatorial project since completing their MA.

In addition to their curatorial work, Murat’s degree show piece Tergenang was selected for screening in the ESEA Festival, held by South East Asian Center, as part of a film programme in collaboration with Shoes Off Collective. During the event, they also took part in a panel discussion on their practice, speaking about their Malay/Javanese-Singaporean identity and heritage.

@sadnisrinart sadnisrinart.net

Richie Johnson:

Over the past two years, my practice has continued to evolve, still focussing on biomorphic and alien forms, with a further emphasis on textural studies.

I am currently working full time as an art technician!

I have begun creating custom painting clothing, information about which can be found on my Instagram @uunstuck, along with photos of my tattoo work.

Gabriel East:

As a mixed-media storyteller, my work concerns itself with the methods available to me to make external my inner mythologies. Through illustration I aim to recreate these mythologies, based on my experiences and dreams, and convey the truth of imagination.

My most recent work explores these experiences through the creation of a fantasy realm; presenting observations and recordings of a distant continent. Self-characterised as an anthropologist, I have chronicled the landscape and customs of my dream civilisation, depicted through monosemic narratives, and unearthed once-coveted artefacts that have now lost their significance to time and reality.

I invite viewers to catch a glimpse of the world as I imagine and re-tell it.

Leo Lou:

This video installation explores how we perceive and emotionally relate to our

everyday environments. Combining handheld recordings of urban encounters in

Berlin with raw, unedited 3D scans, the work moves between lived observation

and digital reconstruction. It offers a meditative experience, situating the viewer

in a space between the real and the unreal, the natural and the artificial.