OCA Fine Art: Student Journey, Jess Reid

Fine Art Programme Tutor, Hayley Lock, discusses the student journey so far with Jess Reid, a student on the BA Fine Art degree who has just started the second unit, 1.2 Fine Art Practices – Studio 4D. 

Unit 1.2 is made up of ten projects where topics such as movement, performance, time and sound allow students to continue and extend their knowledge from the first unit, 1.1 Fine Art Practices – Studios 2D and 3D, and start to embrace an open and experimental approach to time-based media, research, learning and making.

A few projects in and Jess appears to have found her own rhythm in relation to the new unit, so her tutor Hayley Lock thought this would be a good marker to ask Jess a few questions around the experience of starting and progressing through the BA Fine Art Degree at the OCA.

Hayley Lock (HL): Jess, as your tutor, I am delighted to see you start to continue your student journey from the first unit and already be at a point where I can see your confidence growing through what is effectively the mid-stage of Level 4 (HE4) on the BA Fine Art degree. Could you explain a little about why you decided to study online in the first instance and what your initial concerns and ambitions were in moving from the first unit to the second?

Jess Reid (JR): When I finished sixth form, I definitely felt finished with school and learning, and I was quite lost in terms of what I wanted to do in the future. I never really wanted to go to a brick-and-mortar university because it seemed very stressful to me. I also went to quite an academic school that didn’t value artistic subjects at the same standard, so although art was my passion, I felt almost pushed away from studying it further. I ended up going straight into employment after school, but still never felt satisfied. I didn’t find out till about a year later about the OCA and that studying Fine Art at a degree level was possible online. This was kind of life-changing for me because I had finally found something that I actually really wanted to do. I love that I have the flexibility to work whilst I study, but there is still enough structure to keep me engaged with the work. Moving from the first unit to the second was really exciting, as at the end of Unit 1.1, I began to dabble in performance art for my final piece. This meant that the transition to Unit 1.2 flowed really smoothly. There were also some nerves, too, as I have found this unit to be much more personal, and I have found that I need to become more confident filming myself as contextually I am interested in performing the self and gender studies.

HL: You have recently submitted Project 3 and have totally immersed yourself in the performative and film side of making. Could you explain what you have been doing and speak to any shifts that you have witnessed in your own learning and experience of this unit to date?

JR: I have been really enjoying this unit, especially in the last Project. I definitely felt a shift, as at the start I was quite nervous and the ideas weren’t really flowing. I was more conscious of whether I was going to be on screen and how I was going to look. However, throughout Project Three, my work went on a journey, and you can see my confidence increasing from task one to task four. I ended up filming myself from probably one of the most unflattering angles possible, screaming silently at a wall. I have also been able to develop my skills with the actual filming and editing, which I think has helped make my work look more professional.

HL: Towards the end of this unit, you will be developing a personal practice plan. Have you identified how you see your creative practice evolving?

JR: I definitely want to continue to involve myself and my body in my work and hope to develop some more personal themes, too. Currently, I’m nearing the end of Project Four, and I’ve attempted to become more intimate with my work, focusing some pieces on creating an uncomfortable and awkward feel to them. This has been really interesting and fun to work on, and I hope to take this further. I have also been improving my editing skills, so this is something I want to continue practising to enhance my work.

HL: What are the takeaways of this unit so far?

JR: Artist research has been something that is a really valuable resource throughout, as exploring ideas and methods is what has driven my work. I have been really inspired by artists such as Carolee Schneemann and Marina Abramović, as they have been pioneers for performance art, especially in a feminist context. I was lucky enough to see an exhibition by Abramović recently at Saatchi Yates, which displayed stills from Abramović’s “Red Period” and “Blue Period”. Being able to get up close to the work was really inspirational and felt more intimate and confrontational than looking online. Mike Kelley and Matthew Barney are some more artists who crop up in my mind a lot, as they create such wacky, fun films and photography, which fully immerse the viewer in their world they create.

The research tasks have been really helpful as well in finding artists such as Kae Tempest, a spoken word artist. Tempest inspired a lot of my work in Project Three because I found new ways to express emotion in performances. In my free time, I also read a lot, specifically about women and the challenges we face. I enjoy books that are quite surrealist and disturbing, mostly in the horror genre, that feel confronting yet thought-provoking. My favourite book this year was “Boy Parts” (2020) by Eliza Clark, which is a dark comedy about a young female artist who realises she must go to extreme lengths to be recognised as anything. It embodies the female rage, and it makes me angry. I would love to lean towards these themes as my course progresses and express this anger through my work, and to put my own voice out there. I think I have really learnt that inspiration can come from any sort of art form, and to get out there and explore as much as I can about the themes I love to be more well-rounded in my approach.

I have also learnt the importance of just practice, practice, practice and re-filming things in lots of ways to see different effects. You never know what you will like best until you film several options. And finally, as cliché as it sounds, I have also learnt to have fun, to not stress and to just explore new things and see where it takes me because this is where I thrive.

HL: Thank you, Jess, it’s so good to hear of your study adventures, as well as see the work you are making involve you in some way. Keep going, you are learning a lot, and hopefully, this blog post will inspire others along the way to fully immerse themselves in their studies.