Where Meaning Lives exhibition

from Horizons drawing class to the Blyth Gallery

You may have seen a recent art exhibition in the main entrance foyer of Imperial College London. Hosted by the university's Blyth Gallery, Where Meaning Lives, is two-person exhibition by Melina Lee and Ronak Sabu, presented as part of the Blyth Arts Fellowship. Both Melina and Ronak are alumni of the Horizons drawing and art module [link], and in many cases their work grew out of themes explored in the Horizons module/s.

The exhibition takes up questions of memory, identity, and belonging, and traces how the movement of people and ideas across borders shapes the way we understand ourselves. As the catalogue puts it, the show "considers how personal tensions and geographical landscapes shape who we become, dwelling on themes of privilege, inheritance, memory, childhood, and the roots we continue to carry through change." 

Vicki Kerr, module lead for [name], who taught both students, visited the exhibition last month and was delighted to observe how the students had taken the conceptual groundwork of the Horizons module and carried it confidently into entirely new art forms:  "It was particularly pleasing to see how Melina and Ronak had used themes I taught them in class - memory , identity,  belonging and the movement of people and ideas - in their work.  It was also good to see how they had expanded their practice into different mediums - photography and sculpture." Vicki added that "this shows is there is a long tail to Horizons teaching and further evidence of the importance of art in STEMB learning". 

Where Meaning Lives ran from 23 June to 9 July at the Main Entrance, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus. Congratulations to Melina and Ronak on a thoughtful and beautifully realised show.