Scotland's farming life under the spotlight at Gray's Digital Degree Show

A ‘Farmer’s Life’, delves into the world of farming and draws on Communication Design Student, Laura Cameron’s crofting heritage, as she asks why farmers have such a passion for their land and explores why it is so important in the modern world.

22-year-old Laura Cameron, from Stirling, creates a ‘diary of the land’ that gives audiences a snapshot of farmers lives that includes a phonebook and visual slideshow of images with interviews of the farmers and their experiences on the land.

The starting point for Communication Design student, Laura Cameron’s project was her family croft, Achnamonie, which includes Craigends dairy farm and Linkfield grain farm near Stirling.   Laura takes inspiration from her late grandfather who lived in the croft with her grandmother most of his life and also her father, a dairy specialist, who runs the family farm.

Speaking about her work, Laura said: “My inspiration stems from the importance of this family land because it is a privilege to have something of such ancestral value - which links into all the farms in many ways.          I tried to explore the essence of the farms through portraits, landscapes, textures that differentiate them, looking at candid moments and charms around the farm.

“For me, this project has enabled me to put the spotlight on farming in Scotland through the arts and to bring this to a wider audience.   Raising the profile of farming in Scotland is very personal to me and I want to share this with other people. I’d invite everyone to visit Gray’s Digital Degree Show, Onwards, to see my work and enjoy the other exhibitions.”

Head of Gray’s School of Art, Libby Curtis, says: “Gray’s Digital Degree Show, Onwards, represents the culmination of years of creative development and hard work and celebrates the extensive achievements of the graduating students from Gray’s School of Art.

“This year’s show promises to be even more accessible and user-friendly than last year’s event.   It showcases an exciting mix of projects and is a testament to the commitment of this year’s graduates who have really stepped up to the challenge to produce a dynamic degree show.”

Gray’s Digital Degree Show, Onwards, launches on July 9 with an opening party and runs for 10 days with an exciting line up of workshops, talks, fashion shows and music.    

The Digital Degree Show showcases an inspiring range of work from more than 150 graduating artists and designers from painting, contemporary art practice, fashion and textiles, communication design, photography and three-dimensional design.   

Visitors will have the option to explore the exhibition in an experimental way, taking them on an immersive journey, as they navigate their way through a series of 3D virtual spaces.    There will also be the option to search the exhibition through a traditional archive of artists, with audio descriptions and visual images.   

Robert Gordon University, Gray’s School of Art, Digital Degree Show, ‘Onwards’, has been developed in partnership with Gray’s students, Gray’s School of Art’s creative unit Look Again, which hosts a biennial festival in Aberdeen, and Aberdeen-based design agency Design and Code.