A ballet that responds to the Black Lives Matter movement and the lack of diversity in the ballet industry and a half-human half-robotic pop star is included in our latest school show by students at the Plymouth College of Art.

Also included is a textile project informed by nature and a social media project that asks: why have we let a tiny box that we keep in our pocket consume our life?

Plymouth College of Art

School: Design and Communication
Course: Commercial Photography, Costume Production, Fashion Communication, Fashion Design, Graphic Communication, Illustration, Interior Design and Styling, Textile Design
Tutors: Tim Gundry, Marie Dunaway, Heather Martin, Milly Brown, Kirsty Smith, Sam Rowe, Benjamin Wright, Cathryn Bishop, Cathy Freeman and  Emma Gribble

School statement:

"Radical and revolutionary contemporary design has the power to both redefine our everyday lives and solve urgent global issues.

"Staff and students from the School of Design and Communication at Plymouth College of Art are pushing the boundaries of aesthetics to affect real-world change.

"While good design shows how form solves problems or conveys complexity in beautiful ways, it also fosters a way of thinking about our world as a shared experience.

"Our community of artists, designers and makers address the constantly shifting territories of contemporary design, considering the breadth of design thinking alongside material and digital practices in establishing new approaches, forms and possibilities."

Yolk by Hayley Peberdy

"I am a food and product photographer with a creative focus on lifestyle food photography. Being at PCA has allowed me to explore different areas of my practice whilst also developing my professional identity and industry knowledge to help me move on with my career.

"For my final major project, I wanted to create a cookbook that could showcase my versatile skill set of using natural and studio light to photograph food.

"I chose an egg to be the hero ingredient of my cookbook in which 'Yolk' was created. The cookbook's imagery ranges from conceptual, minimal studio shots of eggs to lifestyle, styled final dishes."

Student: Hayley Peberdy
Course: Commercial Photography
Tutor: Tim Gundry
Email: hayley.peberdyphoto[at]hotmail.com

Everything Will Wait For Us by Eliza Belle

"Eliza Belle is a BA (Hons) Printed Textile Design and Surface Pattern graduate from Plymouth College of Art, working and living in Devon. Belle's work focuses on themes of human nature, connection and storytelling, both within ourselves and the world around us.

"Belle develops her writing into drawings, which then evolve into developed pieces of art. Exploring these ideas of connection, our relationship with ourselves as artists and as humans growing and living within the world, her practice becomes a reflective one – understanding through the act of making."

Student: Eliza Belle
Course: Textile Design
Tutor: Cathy Freeman and Emma Gribble
Email: elizadaisy6@gmail.com

Raw Beauty by Phoebe Orman

"Raw Beauty was based around understanding our role in nature and how this role is not being maintained within the dynamics of our modern existence.

"Inspired by the raw beauty of natural materials, the project is concentrated around the idea of sustaining a healthy relationship with the Earth by working around what the environment has to offer. It uses animal-based materials as they can be produced responsibly as part of a regenerative system.

"With a well-established design process and firmly embedded values, Phoebe Orman works by hand, incorporating resourceful and mindful processes to limit the impact on the environment."

Student: Phoebe Orman
Course: Fashion Design
Email: phoebeorman[at]gmail.com

Werk!ng Men by Sydney Welsh

"My final collection's concept revolves around homophobic harassment in the workplace. My thought arose from my dissertation on the theories that gender is performative, which led me to examine gender expectations of a specific gender.

"While studying, I was intrigued by the idealism of the perfect man, particularly in the workplace. Reflecting on my own and other people's experiences, I believe that the mistreatment LGBTQ2+ individuals face in the workplace is neglected. As a designer, I wanted to harness these experiences and knowledge to continue to raise awareness of the issue and educate others."

Student: Sydney Welsh
Course: Fashion Design
Tutor: Heather Martin
Email: sydneywelsh.designs[at]gmail.com

Disconnect to connect by Chloe Hedges

My concept for my final collection revolves around the dynamic of social media and the digital age. It explores how and why we use social media and the benefits and disadvantages of it.

"Throughout the first lockdown, I realised how much my relationship with social media was growing and how much of a negative impact it was having on my mental health.

"Although social media helped keep my relationships ticking over, it wasn't the same, and I wanted to be present with other people. I feel that social media connects us in new ways but disconnects us in so many different ways.

Throughout my collection, I've been looking at what tactility is and how the human touch is so precious, exploring this through different textile techniques such as tufting and knitting and mixing fabrics with contrasting properties to generate a desire to want to touch the garments.

"I've also worked with oversized silhouettes, squishing and bulging taken from primary research of playing with slime in a human hand. Additionally, my collection is made up of a bright and clashing colour palette to capture the eye and stand out."

Student: Chloe Hedges
Course: Fashion Design
Tutor: Heather Martin
Email: bychloehedges[at]gmail.com

Evie by Matt Banham

"Evie is a half-human, half-robotic pop star based in a fictional timeline in the late 2030s and early 2040s. Evie represents narratives and ideas surrounding fame, femininity and the future.

"Inspiration for Evie began from a personal fascination with celebrity culture and the art of drag, both of which have been combined within this project to form a captivating narrative.

"Countless creative mediums such as styling, art direction, photography and digital content creation all played an essential part in creating the final imagery for Evie."

Student: Matt Banham
Course: Fashion Communication
Tutor: Milly Brown, Kirsty Smith
Email: mattjbanham[at]gmail.com

Reimagined South West by Charlotte Maledy

"Reimagined South West is an interior design and lifestyle magazine aimed at 25-40 years old living in the South West region.

"The magazine's aim is to inspire people to uplift their homes without it costing the earth, and to inform the reader of the beautiful qualities of the South West.

"The majority of the shots within the magazine were styled and shot by myself. I also included a redesign of a flat in Exeter. For this, I transformed a living space into an open plan layout with a Nordic theme to make it feel relaxing and cosy."

Student: Charlotte Maledy
Course: Interior Design and Styling
Tutor: Cathryn Bishop
Email: charlottemaledy[at]gmail.com

Caged Bird by Kathryn Fewings

"I created a ballet in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the lack of diversity in the ballet industry.

"Inspired by the life of Maya Angelou, my ballet tackles the theme of racism, as well as telling the story of Maya from childhood to adulthood.

"As part of my work, I created 13 final designs for the prologue and act 1, scene 1 of my production, as well as interpreting one of my final designs into a full costume.

"I chose to interpret 'The Caged Bird – a representation of Maya's inner voice throughout the ballet as well as the BAME community in general."

Student: Kathryn Fewings
Course: Costume Production
Tutor: Marie Dunaway
Email: kf_costumes[at]outlook.com

The Looking Glass by Charlotte Lach

"The Looking Glass project is an innovative and surrealistic restaurant design based on the menu of Heston Blumenthal's famous restaurant, The Fat Duck. It is set in a repurposed 1930s swimming pool in the vibrant city of Bristol.

"The intention is to create an engaging, iconic eating experience that sets the stage for the chef's remarkable and audacious food."

Student: Charlotte Lach
Course: Interior Design and Styling
Tutor: Cathryn Bishop
Email: char_lach[at]hotmail.com

Designing a school to be inclusive for all by Sasha–Ann Hutchingson

"In this project, I have explored how designing for children with special needs should not mean compromising the design intent due to the inclusion of necessities.

"Children with complex needs are first and foremost children and should be able to enjoy and feel connected to a world that does not often feel designed for them.

"After discussing with my clients, I discovered that the word hope is used a lot in SEN schools and that a rainbow is a symbol of hope. Consequently, the forms and colours of the rainbow have been abstracted to bring hope into the classroom, whilst in its literal form, the rainbow frames the mural depicting children with differently-abled bodies and ethnicities, which children can feel inspired by.

"The result is a setting that is innovative, engaging and inspires laughter which is a great way to celebrate everyday successes no matter who you are."

Student: Sasha-Ann Hutchingson
Course: Interior Design and Styling
Tutor: Cathryn Bishop
Email: sashaannhutch[at]icloud.com

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Plymouth College of Art. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.