Buckinghamshire New University Degree Show 2021 | Ones to Watch

The 2021 graduates from Buckinghamshire New University are working across the fields of fine art, textiles, prosthetics, graphic and product design. These talented individuals engage with some of the most pressing issues of our time, from sustainable production to equal representation. Our selection includes 12 bold and exciting voices, from sculptors using smoke as a medium to fashion designers tapping into the multicultural history of tartan.


Class of 2021

Abigail Hawkes

Abigail Hawkes’ final project produces a form of advertising for a young adult crime fiction novel, This Lie Will Kill You (Chelsea Pritcher, 2018).

Aila Khan

Aila Khan holds a BA Honours Degree in Product Design; the Moderniso Cabinet was created for functional and decorative purposes.

Aleksandra Budnik

Aleksandra Budnik has recently been commissioned to create a series of 20 illustrations for the main gallery at Discover Bucks Museum.

Alex Sayers

Alex Sayers’ project is about colour and people. The artist set out to explore the connections people have to colour, breaking down binaries.

Amelia Coutts

Amelia Coutts has created a zine which explores the unique relationships we have had with gardens, and how this has changed over time.

Caitlin Martin

Caitlin Martin focuses on functionality and the consumer. For her final project, Martin produced the branding for a healthy fast-food delivery service.

Carolyn Gordon

Carolyn Gordon has created three contemporary, modern day make up looks based on Greek gods: Poseidon, Aphrodite and Artemis.

Charlotte Frankel

Not only has Bucks showed the artist how to find a place in the creative industry, it has given Charlotte Frankel the tools to create a unique ad.

Charlotte Ketteridge

Charlotte Ketteridge has designed a new festival informing 16-24-year-olds about the benefits of positive actions and thinking in everyday life.

Claudia Mendes

Claudia Mendes’s graphic design project addresses fast fashion and its impact on the environment and contemporary culture.

Cleo Sloggett

Cleo Sloggett’s project is based upon the experimental testing and manipulation of fabrics: stretching, shrinking, ripping, sewing and burning.

Courtney Seymour

“Within my work I empower designing for change.” Courtney Seymour designs a brand of chai tea that donates 25% of its profits to charity.

Daisy Grange

Daisy Grange’s project revolves around our primal need as humans: for physical touch. The artist investigated why we crave or despise it.

Dimitar Zyumbyulev

Dimitar Zyumbyulev uses various media and processes; the artist’s final project focuses on plastic pollution and its impact on marine life.

Eleanor Elson

Eleanor Elson takes a deep dive into salt – exploring in its physical forms, as well as its chemical properties, to ask questions about value.

Ella Woodcock

Ella Woodcock’s project is about “collective joy”, and is inspired by the places the artist would go to before the pandemic to enjoy music.

Ellen Winhammar

Ellen Winhammar has produced a children’s picture book about two frogs: Malley, the friendly protagonist, and his grumpy friend Lelou.

Emily Marshall

Emily Marshall’s interest in space travel forms the inspiration for her project; various techniques were used to reflect an understanding of target audiences.

Emma Duhig

Textile Designer Emma Duhig’s final major project is influenced by beach nature, capturing the beauty of the British coast through fabrics.

Emma Pearson 

Emma Pearson’s project was based around the ADHD brain and overstimulation, exploring the less commonly spoken about symptoms.

Eva Mancey

What do people do in Croxley? Mancey looks at the daily lives of people who live there, documenting how and where they spend time.

Flora Mitchell

Flora Mitchell’s aim is to give others the tools and confidence – in the form of garments – to explore and express their true identity without restrictions.

Georgia + Kia

Georgia plus Kia are a Creative Advertising team built at Bucks, currently living, laughing and loving as Creative Strategists at TikTok.

Georgia Tovey

Sustainable clothing shop, Switch, shows audiences that shopping second-hand doesn’t have to be dreary or difficult, and helps save our planet.

Gerda Pustelnikaite

Gerda Pustelnikaite is inspired by the uncertainty of the design process and views fashion is a form of art.

Giesle and Katie

Giesle and Katie are a Creative Advertising duo whose work is a mixed pot of different ideas – showcasing their skills across all kinds of brands.

Harrison Holt

Brand identity interests Harrison Holt, a designer who has always had an urge to help people. Holt is looking toward future projects and collaborations.

Housna Shah

Housna Shah’s interest lies in the luxury retail market. Her final project focuses on romantic florals and is inspired by Afghan folk dances and weddings.

Isabella Inga

Isabella Inga considers the concept of emotional contagion – how empathetic responses can be generated through bold and expressive artwork.

Izzy Howden

Izzy Howden’s project explores Greek mythology from a modern female perspective. 86 identical screen prints are based upon The Rape of Persephone.

Jade Rawkins

For Jade Rawkins, graphic design is about telling a story. She notes: “I have become passionate about designing graphic props for film and television.”

John Kenady Eruthayanathan

Illustrator John Kenady Eruthayanathan’s final project focuses on raising awareness of the history and ongoing inequalities in Sri Lanka.

Kirsten Walker

Kirsten Walker’s garments and fashion show investigate the naked female body, focusing on how it is both sexualised and censored.

Laura Jane Sessions

Laura Jane Sessions’ portfolio is built around archetypal representations of women; she uses prosthetics and sculpture to explore stories.

Liam Dale and Jessica Bartolo

This is creative team Tugalobster. Jessica is from Leiria, Portugal, and is the one who draws everything. Liam is the one who writes everything.

Lindsey Leverton

Lindsey Leverton’s reflects an appreciation of the UK’s natural diversity; research was collected from landscapes of personal resonance.

Lucy Hazell

Lucy Hazell develops garments inspired by Brutalist architecture and nature, combining organic forms with manmade structures.

Lydia Edmonds

Lydia Edmonds’ niche lies with hairstyling and wigs, with a favourite look of 1920s finger waves. This project is based on Victorian children’s toys.

Lydia Manley-Leach

Lydia Manley-Leach ‘s final project explores the historical aspects and symbolism of folklore through vibrant, colourful textiles.

Madeleine Morgan

Madeleine Morgan explores body language, looking at how someone’s physicality may change in response to how they have been told to behave.

Mattie Clyne

Mattie Clyne’s Spring/Summer collection is inspired by the traditional clothing of Russian and Afghan cultures connected to her family.

Melanie Ayres

Melanie Ayres’ prosthetics achieve suspension of disbelief, which is needed for the characters to feel realistic and effectively capture imaginations.

Melanie Moore

Melanie Moore is a Hair and Makeup graduate, BA(Hons) at Bucks New University & Pinewood Studios. The artist specialises in the film industry.

Niamh Warren

Niamh Warren’a final project is a sculpture, which centres on the human feelings of fear – conjuring alarm bells and the fight-or-flight instinct.

Nicole Siddle

Designer Nicole Siddle is inspired by the versatility of street style and views it as a way for people to express who they are without having to speak.

Philomene Olofio

Philomene Olofio’s collection is inspired by African design patterns and also by Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream’’ speech.

Rebecca Cochran

Rebecca Cochran’s final major project is about female inequality in the gaming industry. Glitch Awards focuses on inclusivity and diversity.

Refika Salih

Refika Salih is a makeup artist who takes inspiration from The Brothers Grimm fairy tales, in which a character disguised herself as a bird.

Rhiannon Campbell

Rhiannon Campbell’s thorough and focused research underpins her empowering work. She is passionate about human rights and equality.

Robyn West

Robyn West’s practice explores the ramifications of the fashion industry and vanity sizing as part of an ongoing cultural investigation.

Saadia Shiekh

Saadia Shiekh’s collection arose from a desire to demonstrate that disability is not synonymous with inability. It is designed for diverse bodies.

Sarah Creasey

Sarah Creasey combines a range of physical procedures, such as painting and collage, plus working with digital software programmes.

Scarlett Anderson

Scarlett Anderson’s Diva collection inspired by opera – the iconic heroines featured in classic stories that continue to reflect contemporary culture.

Scott Davies

Embracing period hair and makeup, Scott Davies has fine tuned a passion for special effects, whilst embarking on daring editorial projects.

Sue Elder

Sue Elder has embraced a variety of disciplines within illustration and design; for her final project she focuses on illustration for children’s books.

Sydony Greenwood

Sydony Greenwood has focused on the Hans Christian Andersen version of The Little Mermaid, designing a series of six sets filled with emotion.

Sylvie Baka

Sylvie Baka’s fashion exhibition was inspired by the three African materials: the Ghana bag, raffia and beads, dating back to the 17th century.

Tamsen Mellor-Gardner

Tamsen Mellor-Gardner’s aims to create awareness of the Save the Bees campaign; she uses colours and fabrics that may not be available in future.

Yasmin McNeill

McNeill’s publication is dedicated to educating audiences on animal extinction – exploring why it happens, who causes it and how to prevent it.

Zara Ahmed

How often do you ask where your clothes come from? Ahmed’s campaign was created to shed light on issues arising from fast fashion industries.

Zeena Morris

Mixed-media and fibre art and the starting point for any piece made by Zeena Morris. Detailed research is undertaken to explore new technique.