Recently I have been concentrating on the heritage project for York St John University. This is a project which looks at the history of the colleges of Ripon and St John from their emergence in 1841 to the present day University Status 2010. The resource has been the Archives of both Ripon and St John with a concentration on all the student photographs which documented many of those students who studied and graduated. Students in abundance.
The name of the work is: Alumni abundantes, 1841 - 2010. This is based on the University Motto: Ut Vitam Habeant et Abundantius. (That they may have live and in abundance). Abundantes is a present participle used as an adjective form the verb abundare, meaning very approriately: overflowing, plentiful, abounding, and of plants shooting up with abundance. The last reference to plants is a nice connection to the Logo of the university which is a leaf and bud.
These layered photoworks will be printed on anodised aluminium and installed in the entrance corridor to the Quad, a corridor affectionately known as Windy Passage. I hope the image will offer a glimps of the Wind of change and the Passage of time which has happened over the past 159 years.
6 Panels, each 1000 x 750 mm, will form a 6 metre long display (that is 18 feet for all the imperials out there.) Installation should be complete by 26th of March.
