Exhibition: 'Threshold States' Drawing Research by MA Drawing 24/25
@ Camberwell College of Arts, A-B Gallery (1st Floor)
8-10 Oct. 2025
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Artists:
Hsin-Hsuan Tien, Hannah Kim, Xuya Wu, Lewei Tu, Mou Wang, Wenting Mai, Ken Syakira Wangsaatmadja​
Curation and Install:
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We had the opportunity to share our works at the A-B Gallery for a week (6-10 Oct.), and seven of the drawing cohort were willing to participate in the show. Initially, we hadn't really discussed the theme of the show; it was just for anyone who wanted to exhibit works in progress, previous works from earlier units, and small experimentations as part of their Drawing year research and art practice. I thought that setting up work and working as a collective was much less stressful than our previous exhibitions because there was less pressure to perfect the final outcome. The name Threshold States came to mind because of the headspace we were all in (physically and emotionally), transitioning from Unit 3 towards the Research Festival and the end of the year.
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I chose to share a new piece of work: a bird drawing on recycled graph paper (check out the Works and Process page for more info). I have been debating sharing it because of its unfinished look, which made me feel slightly uncomfortable due to my looming pressure to fill up an entire page when finishing a drawing. After discussing with Sarah and Mujeeb about the current state of the piece, they suggested keeping it as it is, adding a little more shading, and applying finishing touches only in specific areas, but not filling up the entire page. I trusted this feedback, took a step back to look at it again, and saw their points. I noticed a power in the gaps of the untouched areas of the paper, which is relevant to my research on memory and fragmentation. ​​
DAY1:
Setting up the space: filling in holes, sanding, and painting scuff marks. I hadn't really paid much attention to this A-B block space throughout the school year, other than walking towards the library space, but we noticed many factors that could be considered challenging, such as the awkwardly placed fire extinguishers, windows and the change of lighting (due to time of day). Still, with the experience we had before setting up and exhibiting work in different spaces, the process was smooth because most of us were open to having our work viewed through different lenses. We had all helped each other out as a cohort with what work responds well with another work side by side, how to space the works so that its not overwhelming/crowded, leveling and positioning of the work and marking of its space and at this point, I had really felt that we had all gotten to know everyone's practice and artwork so it was effectively communicative experience.
When it came to placing my work, I knew that I wanted my drawing to be viewed flat and peered down on (due to the natural context of the drawing, of the bird laying horizontally at rest). I wanted to encourage a shift in the viewer's gaze rather than seeing something at eye level pinned flat against the wall. I was experimenting again with the folds of the paper, playing with the edges, in which the paper naturally curls up without forcing it too much and placing several sheets of paper under the drawing to envision a form. I was also concerned of the height in which the drawing will be placed, using various boxes on hand stacking them together to see what height level works for the drawing.
Though last minute, I had to find a way to arrange a plinth situation to place the drawing on.. I got the dimensions of the ideal width/height, which stood just approximately 60cm off the floor; the surface, not completely covering the whole paper, was actually something I wanted to play with. I was thinking of the idea of the paper drooping off or folding, having its own autonomy. The shadow of the paper and the makeshift plinth casting onto the floor intrigued me, making me see my drawing from a new perspective, in a more sculptural, living sense. I took note of this observation. I used two cardboard boxes to make the plinth, covering them with brown wrapping paper. To be honest, it did look more like two boxes of parcels stacked on top of each other... Although I could've tried to find a better way to set up my drawing in a more 'professional' material sense, like using wooden planks or arranging a table, I felt more focused on the endless possibilities of positioning my drawing experimentally.
Also, having the large windows was advantageous for me at the end of the day because the grid windows in the drawing aligned with the window in the interior space of the gallery.
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We managed to set up, curate, and install everyone's work within a day, which was very impressive.
The Poster
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After setting up and installing our work, we were thinking of how to design our poster and what it might look like. We were initially thinking of doing some abstract design that would translate the cohorts' research/style of work altogether. Although everyone's work is so vast in visual aesthetics and medium... we came up with the idea of using a map layout of the A-B gallery space with our names labelled within the allocated space. I thought it was a brilliant idea because not only does it help other people navigate the space, but it also responds well to the themes of our work, which is in this "threshold" states of coming to realise our way of research practice and also understanding the complexities of our work over the course term, whilst finding our footing outside as artists.
In the poster on a shared Procreate document that was passed along with our group, each of us wrote our names and drew a simple symbol of our work within the mapped space.
It made me reconsider the art of posters in general (which I never really thought too hard on). Because of the importance of a poster conveying a message with immediacy and purpose whilst attracting attention to others, the only job us artists do is achieve the mystery of creation in its present time and space.
DAY 2: Crits w/ Dr. Gavin Edmonds
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At the beginning of our crits with Gavin, we weren't sure where to start so Ken offered a little introduction of the show. She explained the shared A-B gallery space we worked with, the theme of the words "threshold" and "in-betweenness" within our works, and how the poster map serves as the guide. Gavin really liked this idea and thought of how useful it was, considering the odd space; he referred to a psychoanalyst and paediatrician, Donald Winnicott's site-specific concept of the potential space: the space between the experiencer and the experience realized through play, transitional phenomena, the therapeutic space, culture and creativitiy, in which there is no clear distinction between inner and outer reality (this is something I want to look into..). He emphasized how these ideas of Winnicott and the arrangement of the exhibition emerge and coexist naturally, unintentionally. We started the critiques by walking from A block to the end of B block.
Towards my part of the crit, the first five minutes were spent discussing the adjustment and positioning of the paper and the plinth. Initially, it was positioned directly aligned with the window, but I felt that the drawing would be more effective with a slight offset from the plinth, facing more at an angle, which alters our approach to the drawing itself. There was a collective consensus that the playing of perspective can leave the work open to adaptation in different environments.
Gavin also mentions the contradictory nature of how I use the grid paper for my drawing: grid paper is typically used with precision, like mapping, mathematics, or architecture, whilst my drawing goes against this flow, or at least attempts to create new lines opposite of the grid. Approaching a drawing on a grid paper as a way of mapping my memories, the unfinished drawing of a laid bird on a bed of leaves is a mysterious subject that I haven't thoroughly analysed myself, but felt compelled to make a drawing of.
Gavin also mentions the plinth that I felt a bit unsure about, noting that the boxes are associated with archiving and preserving something valuable. And the hand-wrapped element with creases and folds could be emphasized more if I wanted to further explore the idea of something that could be transient, like memory or displacement. This reassured me of different ways I could approach working with drawing in an object-oriented or sculptural sense.
Photographs taken by Long Jiang
Left Photo:
DAY 3 PV
Overall, we received great responses and feedback from our tutors, visitors, and the new Drawing Year cohort. This experience made me feel more inspired to continue experimenting with the ideas discussed in this exhibition process, which seem much more open to future exploration.