Our Visual Arts students create powerful art
Deep themes and innovation creating powerful art
Over the course of Year 12, Visual Arts students in both the HSC and International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes are encouraged to dive deep into topical issues affecting them as they utilise these ideas as motivations and themes for their art.
By Layla Harris.
An area of particular focus that emerged in exhibitions by our Year 12 students has been the impact of people on Australia’s biodiversity and environment. Many students exploring this theme have crafted their art utilising recycled materials.
“We knew from the beginning of Year 11, that this year group were a keen group of art lovers and very talented,” said Mrs Cheryl O’Mara, Head of Visual Arts. “They have gone above and beyond expectations.”
One student who has taken themes of sustainability to the next level is Oliver Hill. His textile piece titled Consequences explores the consequences of human actions on the biodiversity of nature. Oliver said his work is inspired by Japanese artist Hiromi Tango and includes the weaving of plastics with natural items such as pine cones.
“I have used recycled materials and textures in wrapped form to represent the gradual loss of beauty in our oceans coral due to society’s waste,” Oliver said. The juxtaposition of white plastic cutlery and straws with vibrant yarn creates an innovative sculpture.
“I hope that when people view my artwork, they begin to understand the damage we are inflicting on our natural environment and destroying what sustains us and holds us together,” he said.
The breadth of mediums student’s used is evidence of the creative freedom they were given in developing their Year 12 Major Works. The result has been unique and powerful art.
Student Peter Kelsey says he applied a gothic lens to his sculpture work Perfect Picks.
“I chose to explore how western society has become accustomed to consuming fruit only when it is picture perfect,” he says. Peter’s work, made from silicone moulds and resin depicts the waste generated by the fruit and vegetable industries, as imperfect items are discarded.
“My work imagines a bleak alternate future where certain species of fruit have been completely lost to human access as a result of the processes of genetic modification and conglomerate scrutiny,” he said. “I want my viewer to understand the effects of their own hands as they select the most aesthetically pleasing pieces and leave the remainder to rot.”
The intricate apocalyptic art created by Peter presents the bigger issues explored by our students within Visual Arts. “This year our students have created art works in a variety of expressive forms that cover poignant issues concerning the environment, global food shortage and beyond,” said HSC Visual Arts Teacher Mrs Sue Salier.
Tackling deep societal issues has extended into the work of IB Visual Arts Student Charley-Raya Powell in her exhibition Mental Health Cycle. “I have used my artmaking as a form of therapy to allow myself to express my emotions in a controlled setting,” she said.
Charley-Raya’s work follows a journey of emotions within the cycle of mental health, from pain to anxiety and finally ending in hope. Her canvases and their colour pallettes explore the motif of emotion as viewers are transported through red rage, black loneliness and joyous blue to understand the duality of happiness and sadness experienced as part of mental health.
“I wish for these artworks to envelop the viewer and create a reality that transcends them into the emotions displayed on the canvas” said Charley-Raya.
Year 12 IB Visual Arts Teacher, Mr Richard Welk who has taught the subject at St Andrew’s Cathedral School for over five years described the new directions the students of the 2023 cohort have traversed.
“The themes explored were highly personal this year, from the temporariness of time and life itself, to using abstract forms to express personal challenges,” he said. “It has been a pleasure to watch our young artists on these journeys.”
Art Express nominations and selection
Congratulations to Samuel Mackenzie, Rove Miller, Liv Morrison, Olivia Phoon and Jemima Steele for their Art Express nominations – and to Samuel and Olivia for being selected as part of the 2023 HSC Showcase season!
Art Express is an annual series of exhibitions of exemplary artworks created by New South Wales Visual Arts students for the Higher School Certificate examination.
