MA student and BA (Hons) Fine Art graduate Kate Oakey has showcased her skills in two exhibitions this term. Featuring her work in fellow student exhibition ‘In a Barbie World: A Visual Arts Exhibition’ curated by fellow postgrad Liv Askwith and a series of graphite works to the Northern Art Gala. It’s safe to say it’s been a busy start to the year. Read on to found out more about Kate’s work and her transition into postgraduate study:

Tell us about In a Barbie World: A visual arts exhibition!

I was asked by MA Design History and BA Fine Art grad student Olivia Askwith @liv_askwith_art to make a piece of work for her pop-up exhibition ‘In a Barbie World: A visual arts exhibition’ which took place at Fly Power Pole Studio in Hartlepool on Saturday 13^th January 2024.

This exhibition was solely curated by Olivia based on her extensive research into Barbie and Pole Dancing. Her research led her to invite 7 artists to respond to the theme of Barbie and 6 Pole dancers to perform routines also responding to Barbie. Working to this brief I considered the sexualisation of Barbie. I created my work Bite Me Barbie thinking about this unnecessary sexualisation that was put on a plastic doll and the reflection I feel this has on women’s relationships with how they present themselves.  The work is 49cmx49cm graphite drawing on canvas.

Tell us about your contributions to The Northern Art Gala: 

The next exhibition at The Bis in Hartlepool is a part of The Northern Art Gala. This exhibition is a showcase of the MA Arts Practice and MA Design Practice students, the exhibition spans across multiple venues in the North East. There is a preview night was on Friday 19^th January 2024 and then the exhibition will be open weekdays until 19^th February.

My work in this exhibition Fool me once, Fool me twice, Shame on who? is a series of three 4×4 ft graphite drawings on canvas. This work is really personal to me and feels as though it has grown into a life of its own. The initial concept follows a couple and depicts the troubled power dynamics within their relationship. One of my main aims with this work was to get people to connect with it, either through reflecting upon their own experiences or considering the ins and outs of the relationship they are seeing only part of and building up a wider narrative in their mind.

 I was really inspired by the likes of Carrie Mae Weems, Helmut Newton, Johannes Vermeer and the atmospheric paintings from the Baroque era. All of these influences helped me make informed decisions on how I wanted to response to my studio lens and tell a narrative.

What mediums do you use? 

The main medium I use is graphite in both pencil and powder form. I ground my work with themes surrounding women and relationships, looking at women’s relationships with themselves and those around them. I find this encourages me to examine my own reflection in my personal life and then this transcends into the viewers doing the same. During my BA Fine Art studies, I was able to refine and explore my practice while being pushed to make art that I felt passionate about. Now I’m studying MA Arts Practice I am confidently making my work while being pushed that bit further to think about the work in a more out of the box way which is challenging but really exciting.

I am looking forward to seeing how much further I can take my practice.  On the MA it feels as though there aren’t any closed doors in terms of career prospects, it feels as though the course can become what you make it. I learnt a lot about the art industry from my BA and it now feels as though my MA is furthering this and pushing me for more than just learning but also doing and getting my work out there.

Keep up to date on Kates work by visiting her Instagram: @kateoakeyart

If you are interested in studying Fine Art at degree-level make sure you check out our course programme information here. If you a looking to take the next steps in practice-based research find out more about our MA programmes here.