North East photography students have raised over £5,000 to help stage an exhibition of their work at one of London’s hottest venues for showcasing new photography talent.

Final year students from Northumbria University’s BA (Hons) Contemporary Photographic Practice are heading to the Capital early next month (1st to 5th July) for an exhibition of their final year work at the AOP Gallery in London.

The exhibition was negotiated by students Rachel Maloney and Bronwen Colquhoun after they had viewed a number of potential venues in London. Rachel says: “The AOP Gallery is the showcase of the Association of Photographers and we were keen to secure an exhibition there because of its strong links with the industry and its clear remit to showcase up and coming talent.”

However, photography and art lovers in the North East have the chance to see the exhibition first as the students’ work is currently on display at Northumbria University as part of the Visual Arts Degree Show 2008.

The exhibition includes work by Alison McStea, 22, from Belfast who has based her collection around the idea of how people bring their personality to bear on their home territory. Alison says: “I have taken photographs of my grandmother’s house and the homes of a young professional couple, students and a family to illustrate the very different ways in which personality are injected into the home. This was particularly interesting for me because, for example, I knew the stories behind many of the personal items in my grandmother’s house but this wasn’t the case in the other homes.”

James Laughton, 23, from Chesterfield has captured images of Jesmond Dene for his collection which was inspired by the special effects of TV and film. He says: “I went into the woodland at Jesmond Dene with a lighting kit and a smoke machine and set out to recreate certain scenes from films. I wanted to provoke a ‘deja-vu’ experience for the viewer and challenge them to relate my work to the movies.”

Rachel Maloney, 24, from Sheffield used rituals such as bathing in milk as the inspiration for her work and used an analogue process to hand-print her images. Bronwen Colquhoun, 23, from the Wirral was inspired by fairytales and childhood stories such as the secret garden for her collection, using herself as the main protagonist.

Mike Golding, Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Contemporary Photographic Practice at Northumbria University’s School of Arts & Social Sciences has worked closely with the students involved. He says: Over 20 of our students will be exhibiting at the AOP Gallery and it’s a real coup for them to have secured an exhibition at this prestigious venue - and a testament to their drive and creativity.”

The Contemporary Photographic Practice Show is on display as part of the Visual Arts Degree Show 2008 and is open to the public Monday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday 11 am to 3 pm until 27th June in Squires Building and Squires Annexe at Northumbria University’s city centre campus in Newcastle.

The Exhibition at the AOP in London runs from 1st to 5th July.

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