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# Project Description Shadows In The Studio James Phillip Paul Rice Summary Final work James is a London-based, soon-to-be Glasgow-based multidisciplinary artist and designer from Merseyside. His practice is shaped by honesty, resistance, and resourcefulness, using printmaking, found materials, and experimental processes to amplify stories that are often overlooked or unheard. He draws heavily from lived experience, their own and others’, to challenge elitism in the art world and spotlight the value of imperfection, labour, and authenticity. Printmaking resonates deeply with his upbringing, embracing mistakes and manual process in a way that reflects working-class creativity: making something powerful out of whatever is available. His work exists as both a personal and political act. Reclaiming space, questioning systems, and pushing for visibility and equality within creative industries. Above all, he believes in kindness as a creative tool and quiet protest, proving that care and conviction can go hand-in-hand. James is a London-based, soon-to-be Glasgow-based multidisciplinary artist and designer from Mers... College Central Saint Martins Course BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design Graduation year 2025 This project is a visual tribute to working-class resilience within elite art spaces. Using experimental printmaking and phototransfer techniques on found materials like hessian, I reimagine traditional portraiture through a lens of honesty, resistance, and pride. The work features fellow artists and friends, faces that deserve to be seen, recognised, and remembered. The process was deliberately hands-on, physical, and imperfect, mirroring the reality of being a working-class student navigating the contradictions of privilege and exclusion at a place like Central Saint Martins. Every smudge, misprint and mess was kept in, because perfection has never been the goal. Authenticity has. This project is about resourcefulness, community, and holding space where space wasn’t freely given. It’s proof that we’re not just visitors in these institutions, we shape them. Even when the systems weren’t built for us, we still show up. We still make it happen. Final work Class Perception My final piece is an experimental phototransfer print on a scrap piece of hessian fabric that I found in a charity shop. I deliberately chose hessian for its rough texture and rawness, it reflects both the grit of working-class life and the hands-on nature of printmaking. It wasn’t about creating something clean or polished; it was about honesty, labour, and resourcefulness. The image I transferred is a found photograph of two close friends and fellow artists, Niamh Quigley and Zach Thompson, both of whom come from similar working-class backgrounds. I wanted their faces to be the centre of the work, not just as a tribute to them, but as a statement: we deserve to be seen. Our stories, our faces, our art, they belong on the wall, on the main stage, not hidden away. Up close, the piece looks messy, fragmented, even unclear, but as you step back, the image begins to sharpen. That shift mirrors how working-class people are often misunderstood or underestimated, but the full picture is always there if you’re willing to really look. The texture, the imperfections, the wear of the fabric, all of it matters. All of it tells a story. This piece isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about visibility, pride, and presence. It’s about reclaiming space, about showing what happens when we take control of our own narrative using whatever tools we have around us. Research and process View Gallery View Gallery View Gallery Share this project This project is a visual tribute to working-class resilience within elite art spaces. Using experimental printmaking and phototransfer techniques on found materials like hessian, I reimagine traditional portraiture through a lens of honesty, resistance, and pride. The work fea... A link to this page has been added to your clipboard Browse related work Realities Access, Ability & Inclusivity Community Histories Identity Craft & Process Places & Spaces Politics Social Justice Class Inclusivity Community VisualCommunication FineArt GraphicDesign Identity CulturalIdentity Craft SocialClass SocialJustice Social Print PrintDesign Accessibility Conceptual Industrial Home London FoundMaterial Painting History Storytelling Story
# Links ## Official page - https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/662257/cover ## External - https://www.instagram.com/riceyriceyriceyricey - tel:+44 7886 643752 - mailto:jamesrice2003@live.co.uk - https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F662257%2Fcover&text=Shadows+In+The+Studio - https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F662257%2Fcover&media=https%3A%2F%2Fportfolio-tools.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F06%2F14220210%2FIMG_7100.jpg&description=Shadows+In+The+Studio