Innovative artists receive Dean’s Prize for Fine Art

Two artists received special prizes for their creative work at this year's Lancaster University Fine Art students' degree show. Jessica Elleray and Robyn Nichol received the annual Dean's Prize for Fine Art. Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Professor Simon Guy selected the two winners from the exhibits in this year's show, entitled '53 More Things to do in Zero Gravity' and which ended this week. The winners were announced at the campus show opening by Professor Judith Mottram, the new Director of Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts at Lancaster University. She said the innovative and 'of their time' winning exhibits would be included as part of the Faculty collection. Jessica, who co-chaired the show committee, exhibited her Yuaning Yuan collection in the show - a striking collection of white sculpted animal heads representing the Zodiac Busts looted from Yuaning Yuan during the Second Opium War by British and French troops. She said: "I'm overwhelmed and certainly did not expect this.