Today I had the pleasure of visiting the 2015 Westminster Graduate Showcase at London Gallery West, featuring outstanding work from Westminster University graduates. I am pleased to announce that my work was featured in this show, making me feel honoured.

In order from left to right: Helena Collins, Brace Yourself, 2015, Jesmonite, steel and plaster. | Jamie Shaw, Where did you go?, 2015, Oil on canvas. Jamie Shaw, The forever-place of dreams, 2015, Oil on canvas. — In order from left to right: Helena Collins, *Brace Yourself,* 2015, Jesmonite, steel and plaster. | Jamie Shaw, *Where did you go?*, 2015, Oil on canvas. Jamie Shaw, *The forever-place of dreams*, 2015, Oil on canvas.

I was delighted to see some work from Jamie Shaw - a bold young painter who is never afraid of what anyone says. His most recent work titled Where did you go? depicts thematics of heartbreak evocative of the sweet growing pains a queer male goes through in a city of countless possibilities when it comes to dating, sex and love.

Shaw's work sits beautifully with the work of recent graduate Helena Collins, which offers a breathtaking testament of internalised suffering and its manifestation as physical pain. Pieces like Brace yourself are indicative of how Collin's physical pain is restrained by external forces.

In order from left to right:  Antonis Sideras, 2015, Look at me, Archival pigment inkon canson photosatin premium RC270 gsm. Gosia Stasiewicz, 2015, Awkwardness, Photography. — In order from left to right: Antonis Sideras, 2015, *Look at me*, Archival pigment inkon canson photosatin premium RC270 gsm. Gosia Stasiewicz, 2015, *Awkwardness*, Photography.

I was also mesmerised by Gosia Stasiewicz's series of photographs titled Awkwardness, which depicts staged awkwardness; Stasiewicz asked the nude sitters to channel awkwardness through their poses when confronted by the lens. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these photographs is not capturing the unique beauty of each individual's awkwardness, but rather the way in which the notion of awkwardness leaps from the photographs, onto the spectator's mind. In other words, the awkward response Stasiewicz's uncomfortable nudes create when encountered by the average spectator.

My series of photomontages titled Look at me is exhibited next to Stasiewicz's photographs, forming an interesting dialogue revolving around topics of body image integrity. Displayed on a horizontal line running along the length of the wall, the Look at me photomontages seem to come alive, revealing a story of opening up to an audience and its effect on the performer's psyche.

Overall, the Westminster Graduate Showcase lives up to its expectations sporting some stimulating work from Westminste's Art and Design graduates.