Local graduatebrushes up

A young Ballymena artist is preparing to unveil new work at a prestigious Edinburgh exhibition showcasing the best of Scotland's emerging talent.

Emily Hill (24) is among 61 graduates from across Scotland’s five art and six architecture schools to be selected for the eighth annual Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) New Contemporaries show which will be held at the RSA Galleries from March 5 to 30.

The exhibition provides a platform to showcase the work done by young emerging artists and designers in Scotland, across the fields of painting, sculpture, film making, architecture and installation.

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Emily, alongside eight other Robert Gordon University (RGU) graduates, has been given a unique opportunity to launch her career by exhibiting for a wider audience, after her successful participation at last year’s RGU degree show.

The former Cambridge House Grammar School pupil, who has won a number of prizes for her paintings, says she is delighted to be included in the exhibition.

She said: “For my career development it means a lot as it creates a new platform to show my work, and gives me much needed experience as a young emerging artist.”

For her degree show last summer, Emily created a series of bold paintings using her childhood memories of growing up in the middle of a divided country.

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She said she will be exhibiting new work developed from the same topic at the upcoming exhibition.

“The new work is all to do with childhood memories of growing up in Northern Ireland as well, and this allows me to reflect on what my memories mean to me with regards to my childhood and how I have developed as a person growing up,” Emily said.

“I always try to look at things through a child’s perspective, usually them seeing the innocence in life and not understanding or noticing the undercurrents of trouble around them.”

Since graduating from Gray’s School of Art at RGU last year, Emily has been working on her new pieces, as well as showing some of her work at the London Art Fair this January.