Student artists awarded

The outstanding work of four emerging Cork artists has been recognised with a prestigious award which dates back to the ‘60s.

The Lavit Gallery on Wandesford Quay has been giving The Student of the Year Award to Crawford College of Art and Design graduates since 1967. The award is a core part of the gallery’s programme and is designed to support the development of emerging artists who show great potential.

The recipients of this year’s award are Fionn Van der Noll, Lorraine Parker, Lorraine Poulter and Luna Torresel Rave who will each receive a cash prize and the opportunity to have their own solo exhibition at the Lavit Gallery.

Fionn van der Noll's work is based within a sculptural and printed language, exploring blends of traditional techniques and newer technologies from basket weaving to digital painting. This practice focuses on sanctuary for declining ecosystems and a possible utopian future.

The work of Lorraine Parker explores female identity in the domestic space. She uses everyday objects and materials to represent the merging of body, object, and the complex roles of women within this sphere.

Lorraine Poulter seeks out buildings that are abandoned, neglected, overlooked or facing demolition in the Irish countryside. She is interested in capturing the ethereal and lost memories of these places, creating a link between the past and the present. Images are transferred onto a variety of papers and fabrics and stacked in layers, each different from the one beneath representing distinct chapters in the history of the building. Through a combination of jarring video and sound focused on both spaces that might be comfortable to us and those that are unknown, Luna Torresel Rave’s work explores what it means to be displaced while she questions the possibility of integrating oneself into an unknown environment.

The exhibition will run from 27 January-12 February.