SG: What course did you study at UAL and what is your practice?
JD: I studied BA textile design and my practice is diverse. I wrote a dissertation about the aesthetics of the West Indian Front Room; interior spaces have been important – but also, it’s been lots of diverse projects.
SG: What inspired the piece you submitted for the Tell Us About It project and why did you want to take part?
JD: My inspiration came from the regular challenges faced from being a mixed-race, mature student with kids. When I was at Central St Martins, I was torn between creating an art piece in line with my final collection of wallpapers around the theme of identity. But I knew that it wouldn’t really reflect my experiences at CSM. I had a conundrum on how to provide something that would really help students and staff to understand my situation. So, throughout the course I had wanted to talk through challenges I was having and so I wrote the book (Tell Us About It submission). I figured if I had provided a piece of wallpaper, you know it wouldn’t have shown people anything apart from a very superficial perspective of my work.
SG: How has your practice developed since you graduated?
JD: My practice has developed a great deal because I had a 20-year gap taking an art A-Level and doing anything art-based. Before that I was in marketing, so the trajectory has been quite steep because I did an intense BA and then subsequently, I developed in terms of textile design and worked for an agent, and then assisted other designers, and now work as a designer for a product-based company and also work on interior projects. So yeah, it’s quite wide.
SG: How has UAL contributed to your professional journey?
JD: As you know from the book that I submitted, I chose CSM because I thought it would aid my professional journey because it is a prestigious place to go. I think it has probably, maybe, opened doors in a way because people are quite interested in your CV. Honestly, this sounds very negative, but I’m not entirely sure how UAL has contributed to my professional journey. At the end of my booklet, I did sort of a reflective piece about what it’s like to study at a prestigious college and the importance of if you are a small fish in a little pond, the importance of feeling nurtured and maintaining a sense of self and confidence because in a competitive environment like that you can become really battered. There is nothing wrong with competition per se, not at all. But given the issues that we talk about within Shades of Noir and Tell Us About It, that didn’t seem to be an acknowledgement that assistance is appreciated or needed. So, since leaving, I have been invited to train as a teacher and to be assisted by the Teaching Within.
I got an option for some work and one of the old tutors was very helpful. I think you get the impression that in college the tutors are very overworked. So, you know you go through your degree and then that’s it – nobody’s really got the time to offer anymore. There were definite exceptions because at the very end of my degree the person who supervised my dissertation was a key point; a very important person. He really sounded like she got the challenges that we faced that weren’t being dealt with. But I must admit when I finished college, as I was a mature student and because I’m quite proactive, I went to teach [or within another organisation] with a suggestion of starting a mature student network. It was taken on board and I worked initially for six months, and a really wonderful young woman who was very proactive just allowed me to form the group. I networked and found a large caucus of mature students and had very, very good meetings. However, when somebody else took over that all changed and the group that I had set up to represent an ostracised disparate group was in fact taken over by two administrative staff who then thought to just phase me out. So, to answer your question about UAL’s contribution to my professional journey, well in anything, they did me a disservice because, for reasons I don’t quite understand, they took over the group that I had set-up and, as a result, I couldn’t work with them for a while after that conflict.
SG: What advice can you give to students currently studying at UAL, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds?
JD: I think regardless of how difficult things might seem, remember why you’re there and what brought you there. Access that inner belief that you are a highly creative person with an individual perspective. If you find the people or environment at UAL difficult, find space where you do feel at home. Nurture yourself because CSM can seem like a different world and can be an intimidating space.
In the piece I submitted, I advised people to study at the university most suitable to their personality and study style. I think probably CSM is very different to Chelsea, different to Camberwell and so on, so don’t go with reputation alone, but go with where you think you feel comfortable. It’s only when you feel comfortable that you will be able to generate your best work. If you find yourself in a position where it is intimidating, then remove yourself from that environment and just find things that remind you of who you are. Take that as seriously as the course because if you don’t have confidence then it’s very difficult to achieve creatively.
SG: What has been your most memorable project so far?
JD: In terms of commercially, it was a design for Savoir Beds which was launched at ‘DECO OFF’ during Paris Design Week 2019. Some of the most memorable work I’ve done has been for myself, rather than commercially. Without fail, I take off Fridays to go and paint either at Heatherley’s School of Art or the Royal Drawing School. I think it’s important to invest in your passion and, given ‘day jobs’ aren’t always inspiring, it’s vital you make work that reflects who you are.
SG: How do you keep yourself motivated?
JD: During my 3rd year at university, I really had to appraise how I was going to get through that course, I found the combination of being a mum and student so tough. Reading the info I submitted to TUABI, I sound really bleak and I think it was just a reflection of you know, immediately after doing that year, that I was pretty tired.
In hindsight, I kept motivated by letting friends know I needed their support. I also tried to organise my time to maximum effect – although I often felt overwhelmed and unable to cope. The last couple of weeks of the course I was building a website and checked with my tutor that I could state I had a degree on it (I wasn’t sure I’d pass). To discover weeks later I’d received a first was mind-blowing….I’d spent so much of that course just trying to survive it, I couldn’t see the progress I’d made. It made me realise you have to surround yourself with people that get the best out of you. You have to build your confidence by trying as much as you can to get rid of those negative voices that can bring you down.
SG: Is there a message you are trying to convey in your creative expression?
JD: The message in my written work often triumphs over adversity. When I submitted my final project, it reflected the beauty that exists during challenging times. If I’m creating an interior scheme or painting a portrait, I’m trying to find the essence of the room or person….I want to find that unique element that makes the space (or portrait) truly reflect the subject.
SG: How do you reflect on your work?
JD: It’s difficult sometimes to be reflective. I’m somebody who has a million different ideas in a day and it’s difficult to keep track, so I write lots of notes. I always keep a sketchbook – lots of actually and, once in a while I remind myself of these. It’s then that it becomes evident what is important to me – and what I’ve been trying to say because, as abstract as the notes are, I’ll find common themes.
SG: What challenges did you face going to UAL?
- How did you navigate these challenges?
- What would you have hoped the university/course/program would do differently?
JD: A big challenge was being a mature student within an environment structured for younger people. I had joined university knowing I would be older than most – I saw this as an advantage (to be able to hear a new perspective). However, it’s underestimated the amount that is learnt outside the taught curriculum….via students living together, socialising together, sharing knowledge in the downtime. So, because I was older and wasn’t part of the close friendship groups, I often felt on the periphery of the group and on the periphery of shared knowledge. I felt this put me at a disadvantage.
I noted some tutors would treat me differently from younger students….on meeting they would seem wary of me (and other mature students) as if we’d show them up with tricky questions, or high expectations of what we should be taught. I spent a lot of time initially, trying to assure them that ‘I come in peace’…and was just there to learn, not to cause problems. This was an unwanted pressure and it felt unprofessional.
Being a mother to two young children was also a challenge. I didn’t have the flexibility to work late at college as I was always racing home.
Being a black student, I noticed that the curriculum had a eurocentric bias (which I tried to counter during my final year when I themed my final project on race and identity).
I tried to meet other mature students and also create creative networks outside of the university. On graduating CSM, I approached the college about setting up The Mature Student Network, a group for older students. During my time of running the group, it tackled many salient issues and enabled older students to find their peers; it felt like a really vital and exciting time. This experience was when, however, I felt most discriminated against by university. After the initial year, the member of staff helping to run the group with me left and I worked with two new CSM staff members. Immediately, they reduced my role as founder and organiser to that of assistant and their attitude and treatment of me became so disheartening that, after the first year, I made an excuse and left the group that I had founded. The irony is, I set the group up because we had been invisible to CSM; they had no understanding of our needs. Yet, as soon as the idea became popular, they didn’t want the input of someone with first-hand experience. That treatment still troubles me…
I would like tutors to better consider the needs of all the students because, if UAL is going to take the fees of older students, it needs to create a syllabus which values and encourages the contributions of all.
SG: How have your reflections evolved around the piece you submitted?
JD: I think the piece reflects my views still. If I were to enter the university now, being aware of the points made in my piece, I would engage with CSM differently. I would be stronger at addressing issues of race and ageism.
On graduating and being nominated for TUABI, I met with our Course Director. Talking about discrimination I suggested that, as well as finding out how many students were from BAME background, or were the first to enter university from their families, they should also find out who had contacts involved in the textile industry/education.
During the course, I would rack my brains at how some students would fly through the work, whereas some of us would be riddled with questions/at a loss re how to start. It’s only on graduating that it became clear just how many of my peers were being supported by relatives and other contacts who had completed the course or worked in the industry.
