Epson has helped many of the students exhibiting in The Royal Academy Schools 2014 Graduation Show realise their final pieces. Housed within the Schools’ historic studio spaces, several of the contemporary works on display have been inspired and created using Epson’s large format printers and projectors, accessible to the students in the on-site Epson Digital Suite. The space provides students with the opportunity to experiment with the very latest Epson digital imaging technology.

Britain’s first art school, the RA Schools is the only free art school to offer a three-year postgraduate fine art course. Not only does it charge no fees to its students but it receives no government funding, relying on the generous support of patrons and sponsors such as Epson. The exhibition is held in the RA Schools’ studios, situated at the heart of the Royal Academy, and provides visitors with a rare opportunity to view exceptional pieces from a new generation of artists. The finished artwork spans a range of media from painting to photography, sculpture, digital print and film.

All the students have worked with Epson technology at some time during their three years course and it features strongly in several students’ work at the show this year:

• Julie Born Schwartz uses an Epson projector to display a film inspired by interviews and observations of a Shakespearean-loving New York acting coach, and produced a supporting large-format urban landscape photograph on an Epson printer.
• Alex Chase White used an Epson printer as part of the development process to produce large-format pieces featuring human and animal images cut and etched into steel.
• Marisa J. Futernick used a variety of media, combining old school slide projection carousels, book narratives and digital and analogue photography. Central to her installation are several Epson-printed digital photographs.
• Daniel Lipp used Epson printers to produce collage elements comprising layered fragments of found, readymade, printed and painted materials, and torn or detailed sections of photographic substrates.
• Hannah Perry combined printed components with paint and industrial materials. Her works use Epson-printed photo transparencies to produce bold screen print stencils and digital photographs that are assembled together to create her eye-catching collages.
• Ariane Schick used Epson technologies to create parts of her installation, using images, objects, sound and text, and manipulated digital photographs to punctuate the space.
• Gabriel Stones used Epson projectors within his multi-projection installation to show his film works on ‘floating’ screens.

Mark Hamspon, Head of Materials Process, Royal Academy, comments, “The standard of work produced by the students for their final show is exceptional and demonstrates the wonderful creative outcomes of the collaboration between the RA Schools and Epson. The purpose-built Epson Digital Suite gives students the opportunity to experiment with and draw inspiration from the latest digital imaging technologies, often in unexpected and alternative ways, and supports their works across a vast range of media.”

Nick White, business manager, ProGraphics at Epson UK, adds, “Epson is very proud to support the new generation of artists emerging from the Royal Academy Schools. Through our partnership we are able to offer the students the opportunity to work with Epson’s equipment and media and experiment with their creative ideas.”