Material Matters considers making as a form of inquiry. Recycled materials are transformed into large-scale marine puppets that explore performance, sustainability and our relationship with the natural world.

Event details

  • 10 July 2026 - 30 July 2026

    10:00-17:00 (GMT)

    Foyer Gallery, UCA Farnham, GU9 7DS

Developed collaboratively by first-year Design for Theatre & Screen students, the exhibition offers a glimpse into theatre design, where experimentation, play and collaboration shape both the creative process and the work itself. 

Constructed from reclaimed timber and cardboard, the puppets demonstrate how theatre design extends beyond the stage. They embody a process of thinking through materials, where ideas emerge through making, testing and collective problem-solving. The project also reflects the collaborative nature of performance, where designers, makers and performers work together to bring objects to life.

Presented in the Foyer Gallery, Material Matters celebrates the university as a place where making is a way of thinking, inviting us to value the processes of learning, imagining and creating as much as finished works. As part of the UCA Galleries programme, the exhibition offers a window into the creative practices taking place across the University, recognising experimentation, research and making as integral to artistic education.

Hammerhead Shark:

  • Francesco Sala
  • Dan Seadon
  • Rachel Cole
  • Daisy Mitchell

Green Sea Turtle:

  • Lou Downing
  • Eleanor Garner
  • Zoe Williams
  • Amelia Wiltshire
  • Charlie McDonald
  • Lucy Quelch
  • Ruby Froom

Humboldt Squid

  • Anna Evans
  • Kayley-Shay Visser
  • Sophya Espindola
  • Lily Thanigasalam
  • Jace Padley
  • Millie Roper
  • Zhiyi Zhang
  • Ruby Ashmore
  • Antonia Dianellou
  • Evie Hodges
  • Ruby Mulligan