Students in Art 2 class spent the first semester exploring and experimenting with a range of media and materials. They used this experience to make choices about their Personal Project, in terms of ideas, materials and processes. They chose processes that enabled them to express the ideas they wished to convey, and they formulated these into text that accompanies the pieces below. These works were partly formed during the school closure and then completed on the return to the art studios.
“ Broken mirror, they’re gone ” Gelli print, acrylic on paper, photocopies of water soluble graphite drawings. 42 cm x 30 cm
The collage I have created is to raise awareness for a lesser known psychological condition called pseudohallucinations. The sufferer experiences life-like visitings from hallucinations which includes the ability to see, hear, feel, communicate, and touch them. These vivid sensory experiences are experienced in periods of high anxiety and can be rationalised as a vessel for trauma or stress to present itself to the sufferer. Pseudo hallucinations are characterised by the fact the hallucinations are recognised by the individual as not real.
The composition's design reflects the vigor of the hallucinations as they are prevalent throughout the collage. The three figures: a soldier with a gas mask, a girl with blacked out eyes and a shadow demon who dwells in doorways. These are examples of the embodiments of anxiety and trauma down to the viewers' interpretations of why their presence can be seen as a vessel to the sufferer. The broken glass of a mirror is representative of the frustration and impact that mental hardship has on getting through the days with this or any psychological condition.
Ella O.
"Tragic Beauty" Oil pastel on Ingres paper 65cm x 50cm
The art piece shows a pink skull with forget-me-nots and roses growing out of it and a blue butterfly.
This project changed its meaning many times throughout the development. With the now complete art piece, this project is supposed to symbolize the way that beauty and life are able to grow in even the darkest and most tragic places.
Luca C.
‘A Landscape of Memories’ Acrylic paint on watercolour paper 42cm x 29cm 39cm x 27cm
The two artworks ‘A Landscape of Memories’ are composed of vivid meaningful memories. Two artworks based on the same concept but they have two very distinct looks. Both are compositions of horizons although one artwork is mostly composed of different shades of blue, whereas the second painting is a combination of purple, orange, blue and pink. I attempted to incorporate vibrant colours to signify my happy emotions during that time period, I also tried to incorporate the element movement especially considering I painted a horizon and blended all the colours thoroughly, especially with artwork 2, . This is close to me on a personal level, because my first piece is a memory of a good family holiday and my second composition is a picture taken from my childhood home. Sveva.P
‘Finite’ and ‘Infinite’ Pen on paper, Gelli print, Brusho Finite - 26 x 39 Infinite - 29 x 42
My original piece, "Finite", is meant to remind people that our time in this world is finite ("Memento Mori"). The symbols in the eyes represent life and death and how you cannot have one without the other. I want people to be inspired when they see the ‘Finite’ to live their lives to the fullest. My second piece, titled ‘Infinite’ is a modified version of ‘Finite’ and is meant to show that despite the gloomy fact that our time here is temporary, there is an infinite amount of colourful and enjoyable things to do and have. I want people to come to the realisation that without taking advantage of the colourful things in life, their lives will be a boring black and white nothingness filled with uninteresting events.
Adrian D-C
“Masked” Tonal chalks on paper 55cm by 41cm
For creating this art work, I experimented with different tonal chalks, first making a sketch, and later blending the chalks to create a realistic image. The chalks allowed me to create a neutral tone through the piece, not drawing too much attention to one thing or the other, and also allowed me to blend nicely and therefore create the realistic look.
In this piece, I wanted to represent how not everything is at it seems. Many people hide behind different masks they create for themselves everyday, hence the name “hiding”. The emotionless faces show how no one can truly tell how one is feeling under the manipulation, and the realism of the masks shows how difficult it is to tell when someone is lying. The theatrical element to the art piece through the masks also represents the element of acting in everyday life.
“Hiding” Graphite on paper, with coloured pencils 43cm by 31cm
his piece represents how people often hide behind masks when in public. The person behind the masks is portrayed in black and white, emotionless, tired. In contrast the two masks pulling away from her are colourful and bright, expressing different emotions and life that she puts on to keep her secret.
Risa H.
“Too Quick to Judge” graphite pencil, acrylic paintings with watercolour characters Painting #1: 53cm x 30cm Painting #2:45x33cm
During the pandemic, many Asians have been mentally, physically and verbally abused around the world. Many have been beaten, spat on or even stabbed whilst they were just going around their day thinking that they were safe. My artwork displays the physical damage that has been done to the Asian communities and the constant fear that they live in because of all the news reports about Asian hate crimes. But, since I didn’t want my artwork to only carry negative connotations I included a sense of hope by framing the faces with pink flowers. I specifically used watercolours to write the words as it makes it more flowy and gives a smoother transition. The characters in the background mean “We are all part of the human race”, “Stop Racism”, and “The virus is our enemy, not the Chinese”. Even though I wrote them in Chinese characters and not that many people would be able to understand what they mean, I still want them to be able to sense what my message was by the way I displayed everything else.
Ann-Kathrin G
"2030" Oil pastels on paper 65cm by 55cm
When creating this artwork, I first sketched out the drawing with pencil. I then experimented with different colours, shades, tones and textures using oil pastels. First, I drew in my initial layer of pastel and built up the effect by working on the textures through many layers of different colours and values. I then used a thinner to blend colours together and to create movement in the wave.
In this piece I wanted to represent the effects of our actions as humans toward the environment. Showing a surfer wearing a full hazmat suit surfing through pieces of trash floating in the ocean, the message I want to send through this piece and with the title is that if we don’t take action for the environment quickly, this is what our future will look like and that this is coming sooner than we think, hence the title “2030”. New research shows how in the next 10-20 years, there will be more plastic in the ocean than there will be fish, which is why my drawing only shows one sea creature in it and from its tail hangs a plastic bag.
Charlotte R.
“Solitude” Acrylic paint, dry brush technique on cartridge paper 29.3 cm x 25 cm & 30 cm x 41.8 cm
“Solitude” was the theme that I wanted to convey with both my artworks. As I was forming and initiating the first designs of my pieces, I took on inspiration from other examples of paintings as well as some of earth's most intricate space images taken with powerful telescopes. With this knowledge and my desire to further improve on my artistic ability, I began to plan with a medium that could help radiate this aesthetic of an endless void, and later on this would help me to describe the astronaut who would also serve as a symbol; “Untethered yet unified”.
Ellis C.
“Lone passerby” Acrylic on paper 42.0x59.4 cm
This piece is inspired by western scenes of cowboys looking out over land at dusk. The fading colors and fading depth of the rocks emphasises how the scene is fading. It represents the lack of attention and recognition the southwest receives. The man depicted is taking a last look at what could be completely forgotten in a very small amount of time.
“Direction” Gelli printed image; acrylic on paper 34x28 cm For this piece I wanted to show the neglected beauty of the landscape with colour. Red doesn't show a realistic view of what would actually be seen but since It still holds beauty in form and landscape the viewer can only imagine the beauty of a realistic image. The title is derived from the arrow in the bottom right corner which points away from the structures emphasising the neglect and lack or recognition they face.
Andrew P.
“Bordering Humanity” 15.5 in x 20.5 in Graphite, Gelliprints, Acrylic Paint
The piece “Bordering Humanity” features collages of a skeleton and a half-muscled person stripped bare, without skin. Therefore, bordering humanity because there is a lack of the essence of life. The theme of life and death was once again my inspiration, specifically looking at what components determine whether you are alive or dead. The hands in the background are again bare, symbolizing one’s hands with no weapons or tools, only with what you are born with. The two forms collaged from different versions of the same painting done in acrylic paint. The hands are lightly drawing in the background, not to distract the audience from the two forms.
“Oblivious to Death” 15 in x 11 in Acrylic paint, Gelliprints, Graphite
The piece “Oblivious to Death” features human forms and also two skulls. My inspiration for this theme was life and death, and ultimately how someone can be oblivious to death. The female face is looking forward, lacking a state of awareness to the skull, also looking forward-positioned slightly behind her. This contrasts the male face positioned in front of the skull, looking to the right, aware that death is coming. The primary forms are collaged together from different versions of the same painting, done in acrylic paint. The background is a pencil version of the drawing at a larger size, emphasizing the forms in the middle.
“Guardian of Departure” 15.5 in x 11in Gelli Prints, Acrylic Paint
The piece “Guardian of Departure'' features a sitting man with a wing of what represents heaven and happiness which juxtaposes with the wing of hell, which represents darkness. The theme influencing my piece is the topic of life and death specifically where one goes after they pass, heaven or hell. This composition is composed of gelli prints collaged together with strokes of black and white strokes of paints. The blank background due to the negative space emphasizes the main form of an angel.
“Praying for Life” 11.5 in x 11in Pencil, Graphite, Pen, Gelliprints
The piece “Praying for Life'' features a skeleton praying and looking above. The hands bolded by black pen symbolize the value in the movement of praying. My inspiration for this piece was revolving around the theme of life and death specifically the feeling of darkness overwhelming you and praying to your saviour. The background is composed of many contrasting colours which symbolize emotions such as red representing anger and love, but the blue symbolizing sadness, the lack of green symbolized the lack of mental health and awareness. The composition is a graphite, pencil and pen sketch mounted on a gelli print with a skeleton’s skull peeping in the background, the colours emphasize the focus image.
Tara P.
"Escape From Reality" Acrylic on paper; Gelli prints, Finished with Acrylic on Gelli print 30 cm x 21 cm ; 42 cm x 30 cm
These art pieces show three of my favorite albums. The albums Fine Line by Harry Styles, Wiped out! by The Neighbourhood, and Nothing Happens by the Wallows. In my first piece I painted the album covers, and splattered paint with colors that associated with the type of music in the albums. In my second piece I made a collage by making multiple gelli prints, and then tearing it up and glueing it down on a piece of paper.
Music in general is something that's always helped me escape from stress and frustration that comes with life. Listening to music and finding new artists and songs is an outlet for me. The albums I painted in this artwork mean a lot to me and have helped me through a lot of things.
Claudia Q.
"Hands" Graphite, acrylic paint 42cm x 28.5cm Beauty is completely subjective. For some, beauty could be considered views from hiking in the mountains, while others might say modern buildings in a huge city. It can be said that the media greatly influences beauty standards and social norms, but the reality is that saying someone is more beautiful than another cannot be justified because it all comes down to the fact that we are all human. This art piece is meant to help people see the significance that the media has over people and while it is often used to tear people down, it can also be used for good. Lily S.
“Fragmented reality” Graphite on paper 57cm by 40cm
Creating this piece I played a lot around with the moment of the body and how coral and other sea life grows on subjects. With the graphite I experimented with the water soluble kind and normal graphite. I found that for this piece the best thing to do was to go in with dark tones and light tones to gain contrast. I also used the negative space to further emphasize the final to get a sense of the emotion behind the piece.
The idea of the piece is based around the characterization of negative emotions as a physical manifestation. More specifically this piece represents anxiety and overthinking. The coral represents anxiety eating away at the corpse, growing unbothered by the mind. The jellyfish hidden away in the corpse is a representation of the mind, and the skull represents impending death at the loss of health when subjected to anxiety. The whole point of the piece was to represent negative emotions that affect the body and to compare how we feel inside as opposed to how we look. To get a deeper understanding of the emotional body and to better understand the hold negative emotion has on us. Seb S.
"It's Positive, I Promise" Acrylic Paint, Gelli print, Watercolour 30cm x 20cm
In my set of artworks, I wanted to portray a theme of happiness in hard times. Often, people tend to focus on only the negative especially when something difficult has happened and so when they see the compositions they focus immediately on the skull and assume that it has a negative connotation. I wanted to go against this stereotype and add lots of colour and add flowers as they are something often seen as positive. These represent the happiness whereas the skull represents the hard times. It also represents a difference in pessimism vs optimism. There are those who see the skull first and immediately assume the piece to have a negative, dark meaning whereas there will be people who see the roses and think positively about the piece and I wanted to portray this contrast as well as show that there may always be a bright side to something.