Queen's University Belfast
Over a two year period, Keith, was an invited guest artist and researcher in residence at Queen's University Belfast leading senior BA and MA workshops in applied visual learning for the Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning Programme.
During Keith's residency period, he produced a body of drawings, which were exhibited as part of Queen's University centenary celebrations. His drawing collection entitled 'Sur-realisations' were drawn from their initial context as teaching collections held at the University and then amalgamated into his own compositional arrangements. Keith saw the drawings as a ‘visual poetic’ offering audiences a new perspective on how to view historic and contemporary teaching materials and devices. For Keith a process of definition arose where: Realism can be defined as ‘a practical understanding and acceptance of the actual nature of the world, rather than an idealised or romantic view of it’. In contrast Surrealism can be defined ‘as an early 20th Century movement in art and literature representing the subconscious through juxtaposing elements which seem to contradict each other’. Sur – realisations may by contrast of definition seem paradoxical but offer an ambiguity that contributes and extends to an open-ended ‘visual poetic’. There was no denying for the artist the historic value or interest inherent to the collections themselves; they were as diverse as the academic departments that house them. The opportunity for Keith to reference the collections first hand provided a unique vehicle from which to respond. The drawings are a culmination of an intense working period and have led to new bodies of work. 
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