The University of Essex Gallery is delighted to present Yours, Mine, Ours, a new exhibition starting on Monday, 21 April, exploring the use of appropriated imagery by established and emerging artists.

Using photographs, film stills, newspaper cuttings and historical artworks, these artists layer, erase, rework and manipulate found images until the original focus and meanings are severely obscured or even destroyed, creating new visual narratives on the foundations of the old.

This exciting exhibition, guest curated by MA Gallery Studies and Critical Curating students from the University of Essex, will include works by Jake and Dinos Chapman, Christian Holstad, Idris Khan, Seb Patane, Pierre Bismuth and Loukia Alavanou.

The selected works raise important questions concerning authorship, originality and authenticity in art, providing a forum for debate on the current issues surrounding artistic freedom. In addition the artists challenge the stability of artworks.

The entire exhibition will be designed and organised from start to finish by the MA students. Nikki Arnold, who previously went to Palmers College in Grays, said: 'The idea is to make the task of putting on an exhibition as realistic as possible.

'The University gives us a small budget to work with and then we are responsible for managing this budget, contacting galleries and artists, arranging transportation for the artworks and insuring them as well as creating educational workshops, events and designing and installing the exhibition.'

She added: 'It's a lot of hard work but at the same time it is great fun and we learn something new everyday. Not only are we gaining the valuable experience needed to work in this field but we have made some very good friends and contacts along the way.'

A lively events programme including educational tours, workshops, lectures and film screenings inspired by the themes of the artworks, will run parallel to the exhibition. This includes lunchtime gallery talks with curators from 1-2 pm every Thursday and a series of free lectures and film screenings on Thursday evenings, in collaboration with the Art Film Society.

For more information about these events please visit: www.essex.ac.uk/arts/office
University Gallery, Square 5
Opening hours: Mon- Fri 11:00-5:00, Sat 1:00-4:30 Admission Free.

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact Nikki Arnold Tel: 07795471288 or e-mail: nlarno@essex.ac.uk For further information about the gallery please contact Jessica Kenny, Tel: 01206 873261.

The image shows Graham Dolphin's Untitled (Vogue, October 2002), 2002 Burnt Magazine. Courtesy of the artist and SEVENTEEN gallery.