Laura Papple

After beginning her studies through UCOL, with the completion of her Bachelor's and Postgraduate, Laura is now celebrating the completion of her Master of Design in the place where it all began.

Whanganui-born and bred, Laura has an innate desire to contribute to the arts community that has given her so much.

“I could have studied at any university, but why would I? We have a wealth of knowledge, experience and talent within the community I grew up in. Many artists and creatives have guided me along the way, so how could I turn my back when I have such roots here?”

Laura’s master’s practice investigated skin as both container and communicator of internal states, using materials such as glass and paper to explore embodiment, vulnerability, and protection. Her master’s research asked how materiality can serve as a practical inquiry into the tension between concealment and self-disclosure, using surface, scale, and translucency as active elements.

This focus on the materiality grew from her childhood “I grew up in a single-parent household, so creativity was deeply valued. My mum and aunty always had the mindset of using what you had on hand and allowing your creativity shine using everyday materials...simply, being resourceful. This impacted me greatly because I was conditioned to use what you had to express yourself creatively.”

As a child, Laura describes herself as being busy. “The only time I would really settle down was when I had paper to draw and paint on. It was a given that I would, in some capacity, be creative in my adulthood. Both my mum and aunty are extremely creative in their own ways, my mum puts her hand to anything, and my aunty is a printmaker. My mum could see how art made sense to me so made sure there was always paper in house. This included rolls of printing paper in order to keep up with me, ironically the Master’s practice involved me cutting into rolls of paper.”

Completing a Master's is an incredible feat, a student is required to have the depth of thinking and artistic practice to achieve at this level. That jump in critical thinking and unpacking is something that Laura is well-versed in now.

“I returned to UCOL for a range of reasons, with previous lecturer Dr Kathryn Wightman being a key one. Between her and [lecturer] Dr Richard Shepherd, I could not speak highly enough of them. They both are extremely talented artists in their own right, and their knowledge bases are interdisciplinary, which meant there was no place to hide, in the best way. They weren’t just supportive; they brought a level of questioning that went deeper than most to get to the core of who I am as an artist and understand my ‘why’. I am so deeply grateful for them both for the time and effort they put into me and my cohort, I don’t think I’d understand myself as a person in the way that I do now, without them."

There’s so much to be said for the space they created for their students specifically at a master’s level, there were times where we had to be vulnerable especially nearer the end of our studies, we had to be open and honest. I give them full credit for cultivating the safety of our learning space for that to happen.”

That safety is one of the reasons why Laura chose to return to UCOL Whanganui for her Bachelor's and Master's qualifications.

“UCOL Whanganui has such a warmth, community and overall support, everyone is looked after. The connections you make are strong, and your tutors genuinely care about you, they check in. If you need extra support, they have wrap around support like the Student Success team for example. I do recommend it as a place to study, especially for our young local creatives who are just waiting to be nurtured and grow.”

“I knew the programme itself would be intensive and had stepped away from my practice and focused on teaching for a few years prior to starting, I had many questions before committing and thankfully, Kathryn Wightman knew I liked to be aware of the bigger picture and had sent me the dissertation for Wouna le Roux, a past graduate of the Master of Design programme. It was incredible motivation – as an artist who works with found materials, works with manipulation and is deeply conceptual it was fundamental in seeing what it would look like to achieve success. Wouna and her postgraduate / master’s practice became my north star throughout my studies in terms of the level of depth, creation and thought process underpinning the final creative outcome.”

For those considering beginning their journey at UCOL Whanganui, Laura says, if you have the privilege to follow your dream, do it!

“It’s important that if you have the resources to allow you to, to take the time and investigate your passions. If you’re thinking, should I? Can I? There’s nothing wrong with pushing forward, being courageous and giving it a go!”

“Seeing the artists here in Whanganui, I was always in awe of them living their dream, and I wanted to sink my teeth into that. I’m never going to be on my deathbed and regret having an art degree, and no one can take my learnings away from me now. It’s completely strengthened my practice as a studio artist.”

Graduating in April, Laura continues creating in her home studio, working towards a solo exhibition next year, as she looks forward to being an active member of the Whanganui art scene, showcasing her ongoing creations.