Manchester School of Art MA Show 2012
Fri September 28 - Fri October 05
An exhibition of work by Art, Design, Media & Architecture postgraduate students
Jon Astbury
With a focus in conceptual communication design, my practice is concerned with harnessing the material properties and characteristics of digital display screens. These digital displays, which have in.ltrated many aspects of contemporary life, essentially pretend to be something other than their material self. Their particular manufactured form and prescribed purpose prevents them from being engaged with any degree of sympathy and appreciation toward their inner workings and creative possibilities. Rather than use the screen simply as a means to transfer a visual communication from its origin to a viewer, I opt to use the very 'stuff' of the device to give form to the work and locate hidden visual or visceral potential.
My work arose from an initial research interest in to where authenticity may be found in graphic design. Through a process of picking apart commonly held conceptions of authenticity and its application in graphic design, it became clear that its relationship with visual communication is often paradoxical; undermined by a combination of the digitally infused elements of design culture and a desire to capture authenticity as a concept.
