Epoch – Year 12 Art Show

OCA1A

Diagnosed at birth with OCA1A, or Oculocutaneous Albinism type 1A, not only severely affects my
vision but impacts me throughout many areas of my life. The initial point for my artwork, OCA1A,
was to display my life journey with my disability. I have been heavily influenced by the impact my
vision impairment has on my life and shaped my life to make me uniquely who I am. This artwork
represents significant moments in my life, both positive and negative, creating a story that the
audience may understand the differing struggles I face.

From the beginning of my planning, I wanted to explore ideas of using texture rather than
conventional visual concepts in my piece as, being a person with a vision impairment, touch has
replaced my lack of vision, meaning I can’t experience visual artworks. This is emphasised by the
pure white of the piece that creates a visual blankness thus, to experience my piece, the audience
must actively use touch.

For my first experiments, Annette Hallback inspired me, who used mod-roc to create fabric-like
textured ripples I then moulded this to represent stages in my life with varying levels of intensity.
This developed into using wire as I was able to create textured moments for my artwork that had a
clearer meaning behind each section. This gave me the ability to have a focused point that ‘viewers’
may follow with their fingers and read my story through the tactile elements.
I designed the journey so the audience follows the line by creating abstract sections for major
moments of my life in chronological order.

The beginning of my piece starts at birth, with small heartbeats signifying the start of my life and
small physical feelings of life. As I begin to explore the world around me, this is represented as the
wire moves and explores its surroundings; slowly growing as it gains confidence. Wire is then
spiralled, a representation of beginning at a school that is designed for vision impaired and blind
students, as I felt safe and comforted in the new environment. This significantly changes into the
next stage of my life, as I begin playing Goalball at the age of seven; a high intensity and active
vision impaired sport; shown through constant movement and rapid changes in direction of the wire.
Transitioning from this is a steady wave as I am comfortable in my surroundings at my school, that
then abruptly changes as I move environments into a mainstream school not designed for vision
impaired students. However, I adapt and learn to adjust. This is followed by a large knot, a
representation of the struggles I faced in Year 11 during lockdown. Finally, a representation of this
year is signified with wires coming together as I focus on school and the support I received from
people around me.

This is not a visual artwork, using only touch the ‘viewer’ will follow my life journey thus far by
following the line to experience the different phases of my life.

Macro Life

Macro Life explores the detailed and close-up world of my everyday life. The purpose of this
collection of macro photographs was to highlight the intricate objects of our world most people take
for granted. Being a person who is legally blind added a new depth to my piece, as I was able for
the first time be able to appreciate the details and visual intricacies.

I was first inspired by photographer Olivia Parker, who captures subtle detailed still-life pieces,
including feathers and rings. Embracing this idea into capturing the subtle details of my life at school,
including paintbrushes, pens and keyboard keys. I experimented using different lighting and
compositions for each object, and continued to develop my skills in post-production editing. These
experiments expanded into everyday objects at home as I continued to explore and capture obscure
textures and surfaces.

I was further influenced by photographer Patrick McMahon who similarly to my focus, explores the
simple perfect imperfections of our world, with a focus on rust and decay within his work. His warm
earthy tones throughout his pieces draws a connection within his works, that creates a seamless
series of works.

For my artwork, I wanted to have a focus on objects and things that have a specific meaning to me
that I often use texture in my everyday life. This included items such as food and fabric, to objects
such as masks and coins.

To engage viewers, my macro photographs are with no context or description, leaving viewers left
guessing to what the object is, and are left to purely appreciate the detail and intricate designs often
overlooked. Throughout my experiments and construction of my final photographs, allowed me the
personal experience of finding new textures that I normally wouldn’t be able to appreciate with my
vision impairment. This led me to be able to for the first time see textures and aspects of my life that
I have never seen before, including my eye colour that I had never seen in detail before.

Throughout composing my pieces. I used a variety of techniques to compose and highlight my focal
point of each photograph. Examples of this are using the ‘rule of thirds’ throughout my pieces and
shifting and creating different sources of light to highlight the focal points for my piece. Colour was
also a focus for each piece that draws together my work, as I composed my pieces together,
consequently warmer toned photographs were balanced with cooler toned works to relate a balance
throughout my final work.

The Mercuriality of the Anticipated Unforeseen

Taking the theme of vision and running with it, in this portrait I allowed my own personal experiences
and emotions to intermingle with an artistic exploration of imperfect sight in art history. Throughout my
first practical piece, the analysis and inspiration I drew from iconic names not limited to Leonardo Da
Vinci and Claude Monet, provided a ‘launchpad’ of fine art exemplars and techniques to practise and
attempt to embody within my journey towards articulating buried feelings and memories relating to the
moment in which I tried on my first pair of glasses at 3 years old.

Dividing my time between realism and impression, I researched and performed experiments to whittle
down exactly which type of impressionism I wanted to recreate to express the difficulty of astigmatism,
while refining my realistic painting skills to exhibit the clarity that vision correction granted me. Following
my decision to create a smooth blurred effect for a portion of the painting, I studied Clarice Beckett and
her hazy artworks to devise a technique that created the desired effect. Contenders included a sponge
and rag, with the sponge ultimately winning as the instrument of choice.

There was the question of how to divide the portrait into sharp realism and vague impressionism, but I
decided to do an even halfway split, with the left side blurry and the right clear. The decision to use a
photo of my mum as a reference was incredibly meaningful and purposeful. The story, or moment, I
intended to portray through my piece was the aforementioned optometrist appointment where I tried on
my first pair of prescription glasses, and for the first time, was able to see what my mum actually looked
like. She recalls me reaching out to touch her hair as though I was laying my eyes on it for the first time.
In that moment, she burst into tears. Since then, my life has been a sequence of changing prescriptions,
but none have been as significant as the first pair, which I have kept to this day.

The most difficult aspect of my process was ensuring that the blurred side was distinguishable enough
from the clear side, without blending the paint so much so that the features became unrecognisable.
Composition was an additionally challenging component, but I settled on the photo that displayed the
most raw emotion through the eyes, while allowing a natural split between the two sides of the picture.
Ultimately, the purpose of my piece is to demonstrate the difference that various sight issues can make
on perception, while capturing a special moment in my life through my favourite medium to work with.

a cadaver’s insomnia

Over the past year I have had the extraordinary opportunity to attend a university class as part of my
SACE. a human anatomy class. This entailed a practical in the wet labs each week, viewing various
human specimens relevant to the course content that was being covered. Aside from the low ceilings,
illuminated by the cool fluoresce of LED lights, the ominous specimen cabinets that lined the walls,
and the clinical metal tables decorated with cadaveric specimens, the smell was certainly the worst
part of the experience. Sickly sweet, with undertones of vinegar and old flesh, the aroma lingered
uncomfortably in the crowded basement laboratory. But none of this compared to the indescribable
horror of the situation’s reality. Coming face to face with the remains of a human, cut into anatomical
portions with uncanny precision, you can’t help but connect the specimens to the people you love. No
amount of pathophysiology could disconnect the face and soul of the person before you from the
organs and tissues inside them.

My interest in biology, both human and other, was the reasoning behind my choice of university
subject, and my decision to explore the relationship between science and art in my 2nd major practical.
A particular interest in bones and their various shapes and sizes, led me to explore their form through
many mediums including oil pastel, graphite, acrylic paint, and clay. Following many months studying
portraiture and paint, I was highly reluctant to choose the same medium for my second practical. In
combination with this, the experience I was drawing on was highly physical, something that would be
difficult to capture through 2-dimensional art forms. Due to this, the logical choice was clay, which was
inducive of the experience I intended to recreate.

Following the choice of medium, came questions of ‘How many bones to make?’, ‘Should I make the
whole skeleton?’, ‘How should I display it?’, and ‘What type of clay should I use?’. All of which were
answered in the coming weeks. The most disturbing laboratory session I encountered involved whole
cadavers, shaved, bloated, and strangely pink. I concluded that human specimens were most
disturbing in their whole form, leading to my decision to create true to size human skeleton out clay,
and display it horizontally to evoke a tomb-like feel, and attempt to recreate the feeling of humanity in
the face or morbidity.

The white clay I chose effectively turned bone white upon firing, but unfortunately, was highly fragile
and susceptible to moisture. This led several heart-breaking explosions, thicker bones shattering and
catching others in the crossfire. Ultimately, I believe my practical is successful in its morbid evocation
of buried feelings. There is truly nothing that equates to eye-contact with the deceased, unable to rest,
dedicating their bodies to the pursuit of knowledge.

The Nature of Colour

Colour is an illusion made by our brain. It is generated by light of specific wavelengths falling onto the eye’s retina where specialised sensory cells create a nerve impulse to the brain, perceiving colour. Recently I have wondered just how much the importance of colour is overlooked and taken for granted. Last March, my Dad had a severe heart attack in which the main artery to his heart was 99% blocked. He underwent surgery where two stents were placed into his heart to open up the arteries and thankfully he survived. Amongst this extremely difficult time, the uncertainty of the coronavirus meant that I was undergoing online schooling. As part of my Dad’s recovery, we spent a lot of time walking through the Sturt Gorge and this became my only opportunity to escape from the world and enjoy the beauty of nature surrounding me. Throughout these moments I developed a great appreciation of nature, in particular, its variety of colours and shades. I took this fascination and used it as inspiration for my piece, where a body of work was created to depict the range of colours that I see within the natural surroundings of my local region in the Mount Lofty Ranges.

I began by exploring the use of colour captured within Claude Monet’s impressionistic paintings. A range of different shades of cool secondary colours provides visual imagery of the calm and relaxing environment, depicting a bridge amongst water and bushes. This further led to a visit to Cleland Wildlife Park to capture several photos. By exploring the detail and composition of a variety of animals that are present within the South Australian landscape, the diversity of colours within birds became particularly apparent. Whilst some birds like Rainbow Lorikeets are full of vibrant primary and secondary colours, other birds such as the Diamond Dove have a grey body with an eye consisting of cool and warm reds, and the Glossy Ibis is primarily brown with an iridescent shine of pinks, purples and blues.
Birds see the world in more colours than humans and the feathers of many bird species have reflecting UV light which is naked to the human eye. The variety of colours in birds serve for several different purposes including, attracting mates, helping identify their species, hiding from predators and claiming territory.

A variety of experiments were undertaken, where different mediums were explored to decide upon the best way to represent the colour that exists in birds. After experimenting with acrylic, watercolour and oil pastels, acrylic paints were deemed the best way at creating a bright and abstract image. Different surfaces were then experimented on, including, primed and unprimed canvas, paper and wood. The primed canvas was required to create a series of acrylic paintings to portray the variety of colours within birds.
I was widely influenced by an Australian artist, Imants Tillers, who combines multiple canvases within his overall piece to create a subset in an ongoing canvas board system. After several experimentations with a variety of images, it was decided that six canvases of different sizes and bird features would create an overall balanced composition to avoid any focal points, thereby captivating the viewer of each canvas in its own right.

Upon painting the feathers of each bird, dry bush, moulding paste and sgraffito were all employed. However, due to not achieving the desired effect, I contacted a New Zealand artist, Marie Grice, where she advised me to experiment using a dagger brush that has a fine tip and angled edge. Experimentation of painting implicit lines on the Rainbow Lorikeet allowed the painting to not look overdone, as per Grice’s advice.

A visit to the Chromotopia exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia allowed an exploration of how and why artists use colour within their works. After creating a comparison between the contrast of bright and bold colours against white or black backgrounds, the black appeared to be more dynamic. However, within my final major, the sides of the canvas were painted black and mounted on a white background to allow each of the canvases, particularly two of which have a dark background to stand out.
Throughout the painting process, one canvas was removed and the second major was incorporated within the canvas composition to create a body of work. I decided to change mediums to printmaking using lino, where I experimented with the different shapes and sizes of the lino tools.

I was primarily influenced by Rachael Newling’s single layer lino printing and Alexandra Buckle’s reduction method, where multiple layers were printed. Utilising Newling’s method of hand printing using a barren, I removed areas that weren’t being printed, applied ink onto the lino board using a roller and transferred it onto paper. Although I didn’t apply enough pressure in the first experiment, I then ran the barren over the paper multiple times with a steady pressure to allow an even ink application. I additionally used the printing press to create a comparison where this process worked just as well. I printed on vibrant paper, soft wallpaper colours and plain paper to add in details using both acrylic and watercolour to ensure the natural colours of the budgerigar was captured. However, whilst this produced the beautiful colour of the bird, a visit to the Van Gogh Alive Exhibition enabled a comparison between paintings that are in colour and monochrome. Within his pieces, by converting his vibrant colourful works to monochrome, the ability to create clear distinctions between certain subjects was reduced.
Therefore, the contrast between colour and monochrome was further explored by embossed printing magpies; the birds that I have grown up hand-feeding at my front door. Newling and Buckle’s lino techniques were further explored in a monochromatic colour scheme, and whilst both created a clear contrast between the existing canvas layout and the lino print, the reduction method created a more intricate and detailed print. The reduction method was utilised with the curvature of the background inspired by Van Goh and Newling, creating a highly detailed magpie. The hand-painted red-eye and pearly grey beak emphasised the importance of contrast between colour and the monochromatic body.

The Nature of Colour portrays the immense beauty of colour in the bird world, and how incredible hues, iridescence and vibrance create a living canvas painted by Mother Nature.

Limbo

At the beginning, I knew I wanted to work with dolls for my first major and started to reflect on what
themes I could relate to dolls. I realised that dolls are often associated with childhood memories. From
this epiphany I explored ways I could express memories and time passing through dolls. I
brainstormed different eras and historical fashion, types of dolls, and fictional fashion in attempt to
incorporate various aspects.

To further develop the individual dolls, I studied artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster recycled
sculptures. Noble and Webster incorporate discarded junk, anything from plastic bottle caps to
taxidermy animals, and create assemblages that when under direct light, create silhouettes of faces
or bodies; these pieces often create silhouettes of famous people. I aimed to draw on this concept of
using recycled materials and creating art. Hence majority of the art piece uses recycled, or second
hand materials. The dolls I used as bases are second hand, metal and fabric scraps for some of the
clothing and accessories, and the wooden platform are all reused, or repurposed items.

To push this idea of ‘recycled art’ I chose one doll that is falling into the composition to have a
steampunk theme. Victorian historical fashion blended with retro-industrial mechanics and technology
that helped to create the collective, eclectic look I was working towards. Hence, this doll in particular
has parts of her that have been replaced; her leg and arm, and her clothing is simple and worn. This
is also in part to represent memories of childhood that are forgotten, and toys that are passed on to
new owners, or down generations as new adventures are added into their story.

I was also influenced by Maria Lazar’s repainted doll, Decaying Goddess of Souls. She created a
character that traps souls in luminescent jars that drag behind her on chains, this goddess also has
very detailed elements of a decaying body. This inspired the idea having a ‘centrepiece’ doll that is
pulling other dolls downward into a black pit of forgotten memories through an orb that she holds. The
memories are trapped in jars as the dolls decay in the black pit.

Studying Michael Murphy provided insight into hanging art pieces. Murphy also creates assemblages
of layered hanging items. This influenced my method for incorporating the suspended dolls to create a
cohesive composition that is creates a uniformity between the individual elements.

The final composition represents the ageing of memories from childhood throughout a lifetime; each
individual component embodying unique memories. The centre doll pulls newer memories down into
the black pit using an orb; these memories become distant and fade and are trapped inside the jars
she carries. The dolls that have fallen into the pit and are blackened at the extremities and are fading
away from a person’s mind as more of them are restrained into the jars. The dolls falling into the pit
are yet to decay but are dragged down by the orb’s gravity into the pit. The centre dolls is using the
memories the orb drags in to sustain her own essence (memories/life).

Blurryface

When visiting the SACE Art Show, I was inspired by a variety of artists that all used book pages in
their pieces. Books and reading have been a large part of my life, I’ve always enjoyed the experience
stories throughout my life. Isabelle March’s art piece in which she created a sculpture from book
pages, showing a collective of her favourite book characters and stories. I was very inspired to create
and art piece using books. Jordan Hedley created a very detailed portrait on top of a series of book
pages and Charley Kennedy-Dinan drew picturesque illustrations using ink reminiscent of Japanese
calligraphy and ink art.

Initially, I had the idea of creating an art journal inspired by music. However, my research lead me to
the work of William Kentridge and his book art pieces. Kentridge’s art helped me to expand the initial
idea I had for representing the music by including series of images that can be photographed into a
stop motion video. I wanted to incorporate a sense of development through the stop motion
illustrations. I explored ink and charcoal on book paper as observed in the work of Kentridge, a
technique that allowed me to explore in a detailed and spontaneous way.

I knew that in my piece I would be including people as part the illustrations. Hence I studied Jane
Stobart’s etchings and prints of industrial workers, as I believed it possible to emulate her style with
ink and charcoal. By studying her art work, I formed a method of creating silhouettes akin to Stobart’s
techniques.

I began brainstorming ideas for my art inspired by the album Blurryface by Twenty One Pilots, by
sketching out possible ideas using each song as inspiration for each image or series of images. I took
inspiration from the song lyrics and meaning, creating a unique amalgamation to represent each
song. As I explored ideas, I revisited the artwork inspired by each song and refined the drawings.
During final application, however, some small details changed.

As I was using a book to create the art piece, I had a few options for the final assembly of the book.
Either using an old hard cover book, pulling apart a book to use the signatures and reassembling it
with a new cover. I decided the best option was to recycle an old hard cover and use an old book with
textured paper pages.

I wanted this book to be an artistic expression of the album, each song having it’s own unique
representation and together making a collective art piece that itself was an artistic music album. I
chose a black, white and red colour palette to obtain to the album cover’s art. All these things to
convey the meanings behind the songs, such that when collated together shows the meaning of the
music album.

Emotional Healing

The starting point for my artwork was my interest in crystals, I have collected and used crystals in my own mental
health journey for almost two years now. Crystals are something that have helped me overcome many different things,
every single crystal puts out a different vibration, these vibrations are picked up on by every living thing. This is how
different crystals have different properties. One of the crystals that I chose to paint was Malachite, Malachite is an
important protection stone. It absorbs negative energies and pollutants, picking them up from the atmosphere and
from the body. Another crystal that I was going to focus on was Carnelian, carnelian is a stone that I personally wear
on a necklace every single day. It is a stone for stabilisation, it restores vitality and motivation, and stimulates
creativity. It gives courage, promotes positive life choices, dispels apathy and motivates for success.

Knowing I wanted to focus on painting styles, I dove deeper into how others have portrayed crystals. The first step
was to figure out what crystals I was going to focus on for my final piece. I thought that I could expand to different
crystals for my majors, outside of my own personal collection. I visited the Museum of South Australia. When choosing
what crystals I wanted to paint for my final piece I was looking for ones that had character and that were different from
the others. I focused my experimentation on four different crystals, Sulphur, Malachite, Stilbite and Manganaxinite with
rhodonite. These four crystals all had their own challenges when painting. Trying to recreate the various textures that
can been seen in the real crystal was the hardest part of this process. After the experimentation I decided to only
paint three out of the four crystals. The main reason being that the Sulphur crystal was my least successful
experiment.

After deciding on these three crystals, I started the process of painting and building up layers of different
mediums. On the Manganaxinite painting, I built up layers of acrylic paint and moulding paste to get the texture that is
seen on the crystal. On the Stilbite painting I used other mediums to create different textures such as crackle paste,
glass beads and iridescent medium. On the third painting I wanted there to be a very high shine over the top, I
experimented with varnishes, mediums and resins to try and get the finish that I was looking for however what worked
the best was using the glass resin.

Russell

The starting point for my artwork was the loss of my cousin Mitchell, Mitchell and myself were split by an over 13 years
age gap. I was lucky enough to spend 10 years in his presence. Although we were split by this huge age gap and
distance, he never failed to make me feel like we were best friends. Mitchell and my other cousins all live in Darwin in
the Northern Territory, he was my role model and hugely influential on my early years. He sadly passed away in 2014.
I started by taking the theme of the five different stages of grieving, looking into how various artists have portrayed these
themes. I explored a few of these paintings and thought that I could incorporate some of these themes into my final
piece. Following a series of experiments looking at imagery, technique and composition. I decided upon a combination
from my collections of photographs. One photograph in particular stood out, a vivid memory that I have of Mitchell and
myself. This photo was taken in 2007, my family had just been through a loss in our close circle and Mitchell and his
siblings along with my aunty came down for the funeral. I remember this photo being taken because Mitch was tickling
me so we could get a good photo. I wanted this memory to be in the foreground.

Following this decision, I needed to decide what photos I wanted to use in the background, I wanted to show the different
stages of both of our lives that we have lived. Mitchell passing away at only 24 meant that the most recent photos I used
where when he was this age. The earliest photos of both myself and him were when we were both only a few months
old. I used the background as if it was almost a story board of our lives. So, to people looking in from outside our family
can see how we have grown up and who the influential people in our lives were and are.

One of the things I remember most about Mitchell were his tattoos, covering him almost head to toe. I knew I wanted to
incorporate this into my final piece. His biggest tattoo being his “Russell” tattoo on the side of his ribs, this being our
shared last name. I decided to create a shadow like effect over the top of the painting of the two of us. His tattoos always
meant a great deal to him, each planned out and executed professionally. By placing our last name over the top of the
both of us it’s like the memory of him will always live on in my last name.

Peace Over Violence

I am easily distracted, I find it hard to concentrate for long periods, this is a fact. To help me overcome this I
draw, I draw in class, I draw when I’m bored. I find that it is therapeutic, I have no rules I just draw what is in
my head. This obsession with line drawing was the inspiration and starting point for peace over violence.
When trying to find a starting point for my subject matter I researched surrealism. I thought it was interesting
how artists used half-real and half-imaginary themes. They turned something real into a mind-bender. I
investigated psychedelic art, as it is sometimes line drawings that confuse your mind.

‘Peace over Violence’ has always been important to me because I have always seen how important it is to be
kind to others. The Alien was an important starting point, I wanted the alien to be an advocate for peace. We
are raised in a ‘you’re on your own’ mind set and I wanted to say that really, we need to look out for others.
After researching Salvador Dali, I was inspired by his imagination. He was very creative, and he made his
ideas come to life by using simple lines to express a complex idea. I was also inspired by visiting the SACE
Art Show and seeing a detailed image in fine line pen. It was black and white, really detailed, and only used a
pen. The drawing was realistic, and it made me want to work a similar style, but with my unique psychedelic
twist.

To develop my pen techniques, I used different thicknesses pens and scribbled different drawings to see what
would look the best for the scale of my artwork. I trialled many squiggles, cross-hatching, swirls, and
background-filling to further my skills to see what thickness would look best. I decided upon a black fine liners
of four different thicknesses on a white stretched paper.

To get my message of peace over violence across I used line drawings with a hidden message, spreading
awareness of tough times of pain and violence. I tried to show the viewer how these tough times can work out
for the good. Examples of this include the 3-sided dice tells the story of how bad things can happen to you,
but you can choose to recover from it. The ‘Lost Love heart’ tells of heartbreak and personal pain. The ‘guy on
the edge’ symbolises suicide, but the trampoline below him shows how you can always bounce back.

Weapons are also an important part of the picture because they represent the foolishness of violence. These
symbols make the viewer aware that bad things can happen in life and mental pain can come in many ways,
but there is always something to live for. I added the red, reversed IRRELEVANT to the final piece to add
colour and it also created detail and confusion to the theme. Peace over violence is my ode to just that. It
allowed me to combine my love of drawing, imagination, and strong message to create an artwork that will
make people stop and think about our past and future.

From A Distance

When I studied my first major I started exploring line drawing over the top of real images. This inspired me to
continue exploring this idea for my second major. The inspiration for the imagery in my artwork come from a night
out with friends. We took photos from high points in the city, such as Windy Point and Hindley Street, to capture
the cityscape. I explored drawing with different Poska pens over the image and started to create a sketchbook of
ideas. I was interested in creating fantasy images over the top of the cityscape. Fantasy art allows artists to create
their own characters and looks, and even their own worlds. Photography that finds beautiful moments in the
details interests me, so combining this with the fantasy overlay provides a perfect combination for communicating
my interests.

Firstly, I went out around Adelaide City taking photos that told a story based on the city. Secondly, I then selected
three images and brainstormed ideas. For the final images I used white, red, purple, and blue thin Poska Pens to
create my Fantasy style drawings using simplistic lines, cross-hatching and lead. grey and green pencil to make
shaded areas. In each image I added a small burst of colour against the white Poska Pen to add more detail.
Skills such as perspective, fading of character and texture where important in creating the Fantasy effect.
The first image features a dragon with a view of the Adelaide City lights from Windy Point Lookout. I added a
dragon embracing the view and protecting a person. I like the look of dragons and how I use my imagination to be
creative and be able to see their personality and emotions through the use of detail. I used cross-hatching to give
the dragon intricate, textured detail full of character.

The second image features two armoured knights on top of a parking lot on Hindley Street. I chose knights
because they represent chivalry, honour, integrity and courage. I wanted my image to create emotions and
convey these traits. My friend and I look as if we just won a battle, raising a sword to celebrate. I added colour to
give the knights a sense of importance. This image used cross-hatching and shading to create a look of metallic
smoothness.

The third image features an archer on top of a ledge looking down onto Hindley Street. I like drawing mysterious,
hooded figures, so I added this in to create an anonymous feel as if he is apart from the busy city. The lines in this
image are strong and perspective was important when drawing it. There is a feeling of separation and loneliness.
The figure is in his castle watching the world change around him.

I encourage the viewer to consider that time moves too fast. We need to stop and enjoy the view, a view that is
varied, challenging, safe, and of course with a little fantasy thrown in. We live in an interesting world.

The Uniform

The starting point for my artwork was the idea of childhood and development over
the years. I started by taking the theme and looking how other artists have
interpreted it. I researched Andy Warhol, SABO, and Ruth Phipps. I was influenced
by these artists in their interpretation of the theme and how they chose to show it,
whether it is through realism or more abstract styles. Phipps made the largest
impression on me, the detail and realism of the folding fabric being a very intriguing
concept. I decided to investigate the concept of childhood and the repetition and
change.

Following my research, the next step was to practice these styles with paint of a
simple white sheet before trying other colours and patterns. I wanted to see what
would happen if I was to apply this concept to my school uniform, see how the
folding details worked on a patterned shirt with stripes and logos and writing. Finding
key pieces of clothing that represented different stages of my schooling having kept
all my uniforms for ELC through to present. I photographed these items to practice
painting stripes and the eagle emblem. This helped me become comfortable with the
flow of stripes with folds of the fabric.

I explored the idea of childhood by researching Phipps and exploring the style of the
composition and the folded fabrics through sketching and painting small sections of
different works. This helped me practice the style and developed my knowledge of
the necessary pressures and colours to add depth and light. The textures of certain
fabrics needed to be tested to be more comfortable with this when completing my
final piece. The colours of maroon and light blue are incredibly prominent throughout
the squares due to the continued use of these colours through all uniform, new and
old.

Through this piece, I wanted to express my personal development, the ratio of old to
new uniform being 2:7 showing how little I remember of my younger years, whether
that is due to repetition fusing the days together, or my young mind being unable to
maintain many memories. Having many more items of the new uniform, which I only
began to wear in year 6, shows how fresh my memories of middle and senior school
are. The use of each item also shows the frequency or recency. I found my uniforms
to be the best way to show my growth due to my memories only consist of my time at
school, in term or holidays, unable to recall times before reception or ELC.
I hope to show my audience that development of personality, friendships, and
memories can be linked to physical objects around us, especially clothes.

The Eyes are the Window to the Soul

The starting point for my artwork was the concept of fear. Whether this be the impact
on an individual, the chemical response, or the incitation of fear. I started by taking
the theme and looking how other artists have interpreted it.

I was influenced by artist Ben Quilty and his exhibition titled ‘After Afghanistan’, as
well as famous horror film director James Wan. Quilty showed the after effects of
fear on people, where Wan incites fear in his audience. The Quilty exhibition made
an impression on me, the concept of showing the response to fear through art was
intriguing. I decided to investigate the responses to fear further.

I started my research by exploring the science behind fear, and found the chemicals
of adrenaline and cortisol lead to the physical response to fear; shivering, dilated
pupils, loss of bodily functions, heavy breathing, and rapid heartrate. These
chemicals lead me to want to produce a sculpture incorporating these elements of
the theme. I was drawn to the chemical of adrenaline and the adrenaline response
due to previous knowledge of the molecule. The kinetic abstract sculptures of
Alexander Calder captivated my interest. The suspended mobiles captured space
and movement in a simplistic form. They reminded me of the chemical formulas I
had been researching and so formed the idea of creating a kinetic sculpture.

I began to explore materials and techniques that would enable me to create a
sculpture. I tested the ability to paint on Styrofoam, as well as how to connect the
Styrofoam to one another and replicate the elements of a molecule. I found the
Styrofoam was the best option to paint and connect together by wooden skewers.
This combination is also light and easy to work with. Upon discovering this, I was
then able to begin exploring how to make the Styrofoam balls appear as eyeballs,
due to the dilation of pupils in the reaction to fear. Following a reference image, I was
able to replicate a dilated eye, and used this practice piece to guide my final pieces. I
chose to limit the number of eyes in the molecule to not overwhelm the piece, adding
familiarity of the molecules but also uneasiness of being watched by the eyes.

Through this piece, I wanted to express the science behind fear, and how
microscopic chemicals can affect one’s entire mood and response to specific
situations. We all experience fear. To overcome fears, we must know what causes
our fears. My mother always uses the phrase “the eyes are the window to the soul”
and I believe in this context, the eyes are the clearest way to tell someone is
experiencing fear.

.

Fear in a time of COVID

‘Fear in a time of COVID’ is a piece used to portray my feelings, or rather fear, of needles. I wasn’t
afraid of needles in my younger years, often exposed to them to treat my allergies and for
vaccinations. However, since my first high school vaccinations in year 8, I have not been able to face
the waiting room without a panic attack and a lot of tears. I have always struggled to put this feeling
into words, brushing it aside as something silly to be afraid of, and thus I used this piece to try and
understand the dimensions of my fear. I felt this was especially relevant during the COVID-19
pandemic, as the possibility of having to get a COVID vaccine scared me right up until the moment I
finally received my second dose.

I drew inspiration from artist Louise Bourgeois, specifically her sculptures of spiders. She generated
fear in these pieces by exaggerating certain features, such as the legs, that could play a large role in
invoking the fear people with arachnophobia experience. I applied this in my piece by focusing the
illustration on the head of the needle, which I find is a huge component of my fear of needles. I
studied Salvador Dali’s work, a more abstract approach to expressing fears. His work gives a more
implicit message, and I struggled to understand the meaning behind his work without researching the
pieces. However, I enjoyed the incorporation of many different elements of Dali’s fear that he
combined into some of his works, which influenced me to illustrate the background with my feelings
around needles in writing, as another component of my fear separate from the needle itself. Trent
Parke’s photography, specifically the ‘the Camera is God’ exhibition, inspired the addition of a person
inside the needle to showcase a scared expression to exhibit the fear this piece was used to
demonstrate.

The background consists of a paragraph of text written in white. This paragraph was written in the
waiting room for my COVID-19 vaccine; it portrays the exact way I feel prior to vaccines. After
originally painting a watercolour background, I felt the piece didn’t carry enough explicit meaning.
Hence, I cut out the drawing of the needle and glued it to the clear, plastic sheet so I could write on it
to add meaning. The writing isn’t visible when placed directly on a wall, just like my fear wasn’t visible
or understood by others and myself. When drawing the needle, drawn in pencil, I found it quite difficult
to create depth in the picture and distinguish the person from the background. Although the colours
weren’t blended very well, I was satisfied with the composition of the person, especially the placement
of their hands to signify a ‘trapped’ feeling. The needle’s interior was drawn red to signify my
correlation of the needle and blood, which although I’m not afraid of blood, makes me more anxious
around needles.

Man’s Best Friend

‘Man’s best friend’ is a piece focused on my best friend, Rosie. My family bought Rosie soon after we bought our first house in Adelaide, and as she approaches the age of 15 I feel our bond has only grown stronger over the years. Rosie has had a significant decline in health during the last year, which for me has highlighted the importance of appreciating the time we have together now. The picture this piece was based on was from a walk we took together during the July lockdown. Her expression is so pure, and happy – I wanted to convey this expression so when she passes away, I will always remember the memories we had together.

During the periods of strict restrictions we faced as the impact of COVID-19, my family spent a lot of time doting over my two dogs. Over the year I spent a lot of time photographing Rosie on walks, which were frequent as it was the only way I could leave the house. I took her for walks through the trails near my house, where my reference image for this piece was taken, as well as many beaches. Despite her age, Rosie still has the energy of a puppy, and I wanted to portray her in nature to highlight her spritely attitude and ageless youthfulness.

In creating this piece, I discovered many renowned artists had dogs as well that they had painted. Andy Warhol painted not only portraits of his own dog, but was commissioned on several occasions to paint other people’s dogs. David Hockney also had a special connection with his dog companions, painting over 40 artworks of them in under 2 years. I feel like these artists’ works conveyed a love I, too, wanted to portray in my own work. The idea of commissioning artwork of one’s dog is not unusual, and I feel this is such a pure way to illustrate the connection people are able to share with their dogs. Hockney’s artwork particularly resonated with me – many of his paintings depicted his dogs asleep on their beds, using a range of mediums including paint, printing and pencil. The bright colours he used for the background didn’t contrast his dog’s dark fur as I thought it would, and instead created an impression that the dogs were peaceful as they slept. I wanted to use the same bright colours to highlight the Rosie’s features, including her white fur that I felt contrasted the grass well.

I decided to use alcohol-based ink markers for this piece, as I felt it allowed me to use a broader, more vivid range of colours to create a more uplifting impression. Although I used only 8 colours, by using a blending marker I was able to create more variety in colour while maintaining a consistent colour scheme. I attempted to create depth in the piece by using varying levels of detail – for example, the grass in the background is much more abstract than the blades of grass surrounding Rosie.

Just Two Faces

Throughout the progression of my lifespan, having a twin brother has had its challenges but comes with
many notable life experiences both wonderful and daunting. Just two faces is inspired by the features
of a human face, in particular, the faces of myself and my twin brother. As I began to brainstorm ideas
for my piece, I recognised that this was echoed in my deep obsession with realism in paintings – I am
continuously enthralled by the way artists such as Nick Lepard are able to paint in such detail. This
stimulus served as the inspiration for my piece.

I began this piece by reflecting upon those who have influenced my life, moulding me into the person I
am today. From that, I extended it onto my hobbies including dancing and music, combined with my
brothers’ interests, which, is soccer. This connection formed the primary focus for capturing our different
features and the connection between each other, encompassing that into an artwork. I was inspired by
the artwork of Lepard and the theme that he embodies. I used this very natural and semi-abstract theme
and Lepard’s technique to assist in expressing my message of the connection between twins.
Study into Nick Lepard’s work was pivotal throughout the progression of my piece. Lepard’s painting
survives as a low-tech yet appealing art form in an increasingly computerised environment. His most
recent work highlights the physicality of painting, both in terms of its application and its reliance on
space in the actual world, through colour, scale, and gesture. Lepards style of painting and his ideas,
allowed me to form a concept and create a unique piece capturing my world.

The colours are very neutral, representing the skin tone of our facial features. The colours utilised
created a synchronised tone throughout the entire painting. With the added elements of ballet shoes,
music notes and a soccer ball. It was a challenge to intertwine each element of the painting together to
create a stronger composition, as initially it looked very separate and independent. To fix this concern,
I added a DNA strand to link all rudiments together, this was transparently painted over. This created
another layer to the painting and connected all elements together. The decision to work in a realistic
style meant the reference image I captured was particularly significant in portraying the intended idea.
However, in keeping with an accurate depiction of my brother and I, I wanted to retain a somewhat
friendly and happy expression, as this represents with my personality and how others perceive me.
Through the captivation of the absolute emotions, the colour, the relationship, and the meaning of being
a twin, I was able to convey our face features and hobbies in such a stimulating but exciting way. The
final composition Just Two Faces represents this through the basic elements of line, texture,
composition and colour.

Uncover

The average Australian consumes 25 chickens per year, amounting to 635 million birds slaughtered for
meat each year. This necessitates the employment of dozens of slaughterhouses to slaughter millions
of birds each day. For pigs, every year, more than 5 million pigs are slaughtered in Australia for their
meat. The great majority of them will die gasping for air and flailing in panic inside a gas chamber. This
is not only legal, but also the ‘optimal’ way of slaughtering pigs devised by the pig meat industry.

Surprisingly, despite industry assurances of reform, little has changed since these heinous practises
were revealed. This means that, while Australian regulations require animals to be rendered
unconscious before slaughter in order to minimise suffering, the usual procedure of putting pig’s
unconscious causes excruciating agony and, in some cases, dread in the pigs. These are just a few of
the horrifying statistics and factual numbers I’ve discovered while researching for my major.

Uncover is a three-figure sculptural piece of three animal heads; a chicken, fish, and pig, intended to
invite the message off animal slaughter and the reality of the consumption of meat products. I started
researching how other artists have tackled it by reflecting upon the different types of popular meats,
this being pork, chicken and fish. Enthused by the work of Beth Cavaner, I examined her mixed media
and clay pieces. Cavaner used clay to sculpt animal bodies into a 3D like sculpture, creating different
textures, themes, lines and looks. Each of Cavaner’s designs feature a distinct shape/animal that is
repeated throughout the piece, forming a pattern. Therefore, I aimed to mimic a similar style to that of
Cavaner’s as a starting point for my artwork. Using clay to sculpt animal heads, I chose animals
commonly found in supermarkets, easily recognisable, with plastic packaging. I added all different
elements to the heads, the pig had finer wrinkles, the fish had finer lines, and the chicken had finer
folds.

Establishing depth within the piece and creating a realistic look’ similar to something that may be found
in a factory before harvest in a grocery store was key. The colours were fairly vibrant, attempting to
mimic the appearance of authentic blood and brilliant reds and pinks. With the addition of the packaging
and cling wrap, this use of colour made my piece more accurate. The decision to create in a realistic
approach, comparable to my other major, linked my message to my piece.

Memories Through a Paintbrush

From a young age, my family has loved to travel the world and I have been lucky enough to accompany
my parents on many trips. Europe is a continent that I’ve visited multiple times, and each time the
European architecture never failed to amaze me. I decided to focus on famous sculptures and paintings
in the Renaissance period as a starting point inspired by my experiences travelling.

The Palace of Versailles has been one of the most memorable experiences for me, and the many works
featured in the surroundings formed my initial inspiration. I did a short study of Auguste Rodin, using
charcoal on coloured paper while closely observing his sculptures. I continued to find inspiration from
the many locations I’ve visited, I did sketches of the Casablanca Mosque, and the gargoyles on the
Notre Dame in Paris inspired by the work of Ian Murphy and his line sketches. One of my final
explorations was a painting of the London Tower Bridge, which I visited in 2018- my reference image
was one my mum took of me on the landmark. I was encouraged by how each experiment I did reminded
me of the memories of travelling, especially now where COVID-19 has prevented everyone from
travelling overseas.

As travel was not an option for 2021, I ventured to into the Adelaide City to take photographs of
surrounding buildings that looked interesting to paint. Initially, I was attracted to the Beehive Corner
above Haigh’s Chocolate. However, I did not have a personal connection with this location. Instead, I
ended up choosing the corner of a building on the grounds of Adelaide University, where I am currently
studying an external course. I loved the details and intricate lines and curves that decorated this corner
and decided to explore the idea of using this as my inspiration for a composition.

I painted my piece focusing on as much detail as possible with smooth blending and rendering. It was
difficult to achieve the details and keeping the lines and grooves of the building straight as I painted.
My palette consisted of only five paints, confined to different warm and cool shades and tones of brown,
white, and black. Despite the limited range of colours, the details and countless lines on the building
made it easy for me to paint contrasting edges, perfectly recreating the shadows and highlights like the
reference photo.

I found it difficult to keep a consistent paint texture throughout my painting; the archway included me
using dryer brushes for a scruffier, slightly blurrier appeal, whereas around all the straight edges and
grooves aimed for a smoother appearance with tonal blending.

The painting of the Adelaide University personally connects with me as a place I study and reminds me
of my holidays to Europe with the European architecture style and will become a memory for my journey
through this year.

Folklore

The world of fashion is something that inspires me daily. From streetwear to the haute couture from
the Met Gala. I knew instantly that I wanted to study and create a piece of wearable art. I began
looking at traditional ballgowns in the Renaissance period as my starting point, along with
incorporating my interest in music into the idea. As a dedicated fan of Taylor Swift, I studied her 8th
studio album, Folklore, and the lyrics within all the songs on that album. Analysing each song, I began
to see specific lyrics that sparked ideas for a wearable art piece.

Influenced by Renaissance ballgowns and corsets, I began curating designs for dresses. After a short
study on artist Isabelle de Borchgrave, I was inspired by her magnificent dresses made from paints,
inks, and powders on paper. The idea of making an entire dress from paper made an impression on
me; I am an advocate for sustainability, ethical production, and low carbon footprint. I set myself the
challenge to use only paper to design and create a ballgown that looks amazing, yet uses only paper,
a low-cost material with a low carbon footprint and sustainable future.

I decided to design a two-piece set; a corset top, and a miniskirt that would flow into a detachable
train, like those in the 20th century. I wanted to incorporate the lyrics from the songs on Folklore, and
the most prominent way was to print and handwrite the lyrics onto the paper. Additionally, I analysed
my favourite lyrics and added stylistic features onto my designs that are symbolic of these.
The bust of the corset is adorned with black and white feathers, alluding to the lyric ‘…will it patch
your broken wings?’ from Betty, one of my favourite tracks on Folklore. Track 8, August, is another
favourite…. A highlighting lyric, ‘August sipped away like a bottle of wine’ is heavily represented in the
wine-red stain on the train of the dress. To add more colour to the piece, the ends of the pages on the
miniskirt is also sprayed with the same wine-red ink. The miniskirt has two layers of petal-shaped
pages, resembling a flower, inspired by the many floral and naturistic metaphors Taylor Swift sings on
Folklore, such as the lyric, ‘a red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground’ from The Lakes.

As Betty and August are my two favourite tracks from Folklore, I handwrote the lyrics of these two
songs on the corset. On the skirt however, each petal holds printed lyrics of a song from Folklore. In
total, every track from the album is incorporated into my dress.

The corset was made using a paper-mache technique over a mannequin which had identical
measurements to me, strengthened with architecture card to create the boning. A strong lace-up back
allows for easy wear and removal. The skirt was made with a bendable plastic material that was
strong enough to act as the skeleton, covered in layers of scrunched up paper.

Office

Architectural design is a wonderful process. Where creating countless possibilities in a limited space as something that both fascinates and excites me.

My first major allowed me to explore this interest inspired by Leoh Wing Pei and his many landmark buildings such as the pyramid at the Louvre and the Bank of China in Hong Kong. My quest to learn more about architecture began.

When deciding upon a space building to design I realised there is a need for office spaces to be re-considered. Technology is progressing rapidly and offices space and buildings need to be brought up to date to meet modern demands. I decided to design an office building with space to move around, creative spaces and inspiring areas for everyone to use.

I set myself a design brief:

• Create a design in an abandoned old building.
• Create a functional floor plan in the limited space.
• Have individual and dual-purpose areas.

My final design consists of a casual office area allowing companies to adapt the space to suit their own needs, including meeting groups, discussion and presentations. The small compartments can be used as individual offices or more intimate meeting rooms.

This simple but practical design allows people to have a sense of luxury and convenience influenced by the ambience found in the Apple store.

I have also considered the environment creating some energy saving design concepts, every room has panoramic skylight to increase light transmission by natural means.

I would hope my office is a safe, creative comfortable and inspiring work place.

I love flowers

My inspiration for ‘I love flowers’ came from the idea that around the world flowers are appreciated and loved. In some counties lavender represents sadness and yellow roses in China (my home) represent eternal smiles. Although different countries have different meanings for their flowers the rose is more universally associated with love.  I began to think about my connection with the rose, I have many stories, however, the common theme that runs through them all is love!

Although, in my opinion the rose is not as charming as the sweet-scented sweet-pea  or as rich as a peony, it has many unique charms, one that attracts me is the colour. When roses are in full bloom, I am always drawn to the beautiful colour.

To make a connection between the rose and myself my practice led me to think about how the rose is a constant in my life. My brother recently married, I wasn’t able to attend the wedding because of COVID-19 and the virus, but in the photos, I was inspired by the beautiful bouquet of roses in my sister-in-law ‘s hand, I could see how happy she was and how my family had celebrated.

Every year on my mother’s birthday I send her a bunch of roses, usually white and pink roses. To me the white rose epitomises tenderness, whenever I see these two rose colours together I always think of my mother’s gentle nature.

For my final work I chose the classic red rose, I explored different compositions learning about colour, tonal changes, creating shadows and I worked through the painting process, I learned so much about painting techniques, colour mixing and allowing myself to make mistakes to create an artwork.

I would hope the viewer can recognise my achievement; I will remember this in the future that I have no regrets from the most important year of my high school life.

Romance is never going out of style.

 It’s Ok to not be OK

Mental health is now more than ever at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Covid 19 has had a profound
effect on us all but for those with pre-existing mental health conditions and those experiencing it for the
first time it is ever more relevant. It is highlighted frequently on social media, the mainstream media and
in general conversation, there has been a considerable rise in mental health services being used and
suicide rates have increased. My own experiences with depression and anxiety highlighted the profound
effects mental health can impose upon one’s wellbeing; as such I decided to focus my Body of Work
on mental health specifically the areas of anxiety, depression, anorexia nervosa, Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and bipolar disorder. I purposely chose these areas as they have impacted my life on
a personal level either through my own experiences or those of my family and/or friends.

In order to create the most meaningful and stimulating work I started by researching artists who had
already portrayed mental illness in either themselves or others through their art. I looked at different
interpretations such as paintings and photography, concentrating on their different techniques their
colour palettes, how they portrayed emotion and mood, light and dark, colour, shade, and tones,
abstract versus figurative and generally how effective their work demonstrated mental health in their
portraits. Artists that encapsulated this were Daniel Butterworth and Ben Quilty. Daniel Butterworth is a
figurative painter who uses images of himself to portray social, political and personal views most notably
creating an exhibition called ‘Art for Mental Health’. Ben Quilty on the other hand is a contemporary
artist who captures emotions using thick oil paint in a more abstract approach using a high concentrate
of colour. The photographer, Rosemary Laing’s artwork ‘a dozen useless actions for grieving blondes’
demonstrates various stages of emotion and sorrow. Laing concentrates on the skin tones by using
pale colours and displaying the various facial expressions we portray when deeply emotional. Her aim
here is for the viewer to empathize deeply with the girl in the photo.

The two artists and photographer above heavily influenced my decision for my final pieces. I wanted to
portray the figurative of Daniel Butterworth using my own image, the colour palette of Daniel Butterworth
and Ben Quilty combined as well as the deep emotion of Rosemary Laing’s photography.

In order to develop my work, I conducted a considerable amount of research not only on the way mental
health can be portrayed but the various ‘illnesses’ too. I wanted the viewer to empathise deeply with
the images in my paintings and have a deeper understanding of how it affects us. Some of the mental
illnesses were more familiar to me but I needed to further educate myself on the PTSD and bipolar as
I was less knowledgeable of these.

Next, I experimented with several portraits. Initially I did not want to be the model, but I struggled to get
the right facial expressions from friends. I was aware expressions came with the mental illness, so I felt
it more appropriate to use my own image like Butterworth, which in turn made it more personal and
created the moods I was looking for. Once that decision was made, I experimented with different colours
and brush strokes. I decided upon neutral and cool tones to create skin colours and a small brush to
create the best finished artwork. I used a variety of mediums such as oil pastels which allowed me to
experiment with colour and blending to achieve the preferred facial tones. I then used pencil drawings
which perfected shades of light and dark to create the best outcome. Refining my ideas led me to use
acrylic paint as it is a versatile medium that I am used to working with. Acrylics can be used in many
ways, it can blended, layered and you can adapt it to your own technique and style. With acrylics and
my strength and ability to paint portraits I was able to show exposed emotion in many ways, express
the impact of mental health on the individual and hopefully create sympathy and more understanding
of what people go through when suffering with their mental health. Similarly, I chose painting rather
than other techniques, I was more able to depict the emotions more effectively than if I had chosen a
different way of portraying my work.

Overall, the purpose of my work was to spread awareness of mental health and to demonstrate it is
“Okay to not be Okay.” I believe I have managed to portray this effectively in my final composition.
Many of us go through various stages of emotions at some point in their lives, for some it can develop
into a mental health disorder and can have a psychological effect for some time. We all know someone
who has experienced mental health issues at some point in their lives and it is no more relevant in the
last 18 months than possibly any time in history. I therefore wanted to highlight though my artwork that
it is beneficial to bring it to the forefront of people’s minds and to talk about it openly without judgement.
It is hoped that when people view my work; not only will it be aesthetically pleasing but it will be thought provoking.
Thus, helping to start conversations which will in turn break the stigma which surrounds
mental health disorders, teaching everyone that it is okay not to be okay.

Reflect

In modern society, perception of self by others is a mounting pressure, especially for young people.
The introduction and widespread use of social media has led to greater social comparison, especially
to heavily filtered celebrities and models with plastic surgery. The piece I created, Reflect, is a
response to these modern pressures, and a reminder that we shouldn’t compare ourselves based on
how we look or what we think we see in the mirror.

I was inspired by impressionist works by Berthe Morisot, as well as works by both Caravaggio and
Picasso. Picasso’s explorations of abstracted figures in mirrors, such as Girl before a mirror, depicting
a distorted figure influenced my use of a mirror to give obscurity to the reflected body. Furthermore,
studies of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s works gave me an insight into painting mirrors – which immerse
the subject into the world with the audience. Additionally, explorations of Caravaggio’s use of harsh
chiaroscuro lighting and composition of Narcissus inspired the setting, composition and distinct
lighting for my final piece.

I started the work by reflecting on my own experiences with a negative
sense of self-perception, refining my idea and exploring different techniques and styles. At first, I
explored distortion of parts of the figure in the reflection, as well as conflict between the subject and
its corresponding mirrored image. In the end, however, I chose to provide a clouded and indefinite
reflection to the subject, which allows ambiguity to emerge. The ambiguous nature of the piece allows
the audience to interpret the meaning for themselves, and determine their own relationship with the
piece, hence the title, Reflect. I chose to present Reflect as a painting, which allowed me to
manipulate the figure, and have total control over the distortion and definition of the reflection.

Additionally, the piece is a self-portrait, which allowed me to really understand the subject and
evaluate my own relationship with the mirror. Moreover, I used highly impressionistic brushstrokes,
especially in the reflection, in order to provide distinct stylistic differences to the main ‘real’ subject
which had a much more refined style. The dark, undefined setting provides a sense of unknown to the
viewer, as it is only implied that the reflection is a mirror, though the sheer scale of the reflective
flooring under the subject aims to intimidate the audience. The piece can be interpreted
metaphorically, as a space inside of the subject’s head, who is merely pondering the reflection, or as
literally- an actual darkened space with an actual mirror beneath the central individual. Both
interpretations provide nuanced differentiation in the meaning of the painting.

Overall, most elements of the piece can be interpreted in multiple ways, which ties back to reflecting
on one’s own relationship with themselves and their own relationship with the world around.

Almost

The premise for my second major work, Almost, is the idea of happiness, and how it manifests in the
difficult and confusing times of COVID-19. In the first two weeks of Term 3, I was involved in a COVID
hotspot. After waiting for over thirteen hours in a COVID testing line, my family was forced into 2
weeks of strict isolation. In this time, I came into possession of my father’s old SLR (film) camera,
which he carried around Europe in the 90s, and, by the end of my mandated quarantine, had been
used to shoot a roll of film for fun. The SLR captures images in excellent quality, while giving the
classic texture and subtle colouration that film is known for, which I felt could be used in my final work.
This sparked the idea for the medium of my second major- film photography.

With the medium of film photography fresh in my mind, I explored photographic techniques, and photographic works by
various illustrators and photographers. Dr Propolus inspired exploration of integration of illustrated
elements into photographs, and how this can manipulate the meaning of the image entirely. After
further experimentation with pencil, marker and painted illustration, I decided that I would like to paint
over photographs taken for my final piece. I also experimented with the incorporation of words and
phrases over the top of photographs, and how that can affect the way in which the audience
perceives the image. I chose to write boldly and haphazardly on the final images to draw attention to
the subject and ensure the audience pays attention to and reflects upon the phrases presented.

In the beginning of my idea formation, I looked at happiness and the pursuit of happiness as a
concept. At the same time, I explored COVID-19 and its negative effects on mental health as a whole.
This led to a fusion of both, and the idea for an investigation of happiness in isolation. I aimed for the
photographs to provide a raw snapshot of my life and emotions whilst quarantining, portrayed through
four photographs. Each of the photographs aims to portray an activity which makes my family and I
happy- seeing friends, going out for coffee, dressing up for events and spending time in bed- which
tend to warp in the extended confine of home. Three of the photographs are self-portraits, with one
image of my parents rounding out the work to bring in a secondary subject, which reduces the feeling
of ‘loneliness’ for the self-portraits, while contrasting to create a distinctly separate, almost jarring
feeling to the audience. The photographs are laid out in a chronological order of the day from morning
to night, emphasising the passage of time, as well as formation and repetition of routine in isolation.

Overall, I aimed to subtly illustrate difficulties faced by all in the confusing and confronting realities of
life during the pandemic. Although I have been lucky to have lived in Adelaide, which has had minimal
COVID transmission and lockdowns, the 2 weeks served as a reminder of what life could look like for
us here if something went wrong.

Reflecting on the laughs we’ve all had.

“We stopped checking for monsters under our bed, when we realized they were inside us.”
– Charles Darwin –

My inspiration for my piece was of course Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight. I managed to find early
concept art for the Joker from the movie and also took some inspiration from other cinematic Joker interpretations that
would enable me to create my own version of the Joker. The key idea behind this piece was to capture essence of
The Joker in my work and attempt to translate how I feel when I see The Joker.

My idea with the mirror was to be a reflection of society and how we all have a bit of the character of The Joker in our
human nature because “madness” is a matter of perspective. I wanted the viewer of the artwork to look at their
reflection while also looking into the eyes of The Joker to see the Joker’s face on their body, putting the message into
perspective.

I decided to do a mold of someone’s face to paint and shape to create an intimidating presentation of the Joker’s
nature. The person/ victim I chose to take a mold from was on of my friends as who has a slim face shape and creepy
smile. I put the moulding paste over his face, covered it in plasters for strength, took the mold off his face and filled it
with liquid plaster to create the solid mold. The molding process took less than an hour, but the refinements and
painting took several days of work. I had to sand down the face, open the eyes, carve in new teeth and scars, and
perform a nose transplant before moving onto painting. I painted the entire face white, gave him Heath Ledger Style
black eye makeup, blood red paint on the lips and scars, rotting yellow teeth, bloodshot eyes and noticeable makeup
smudges. I then had to create a fitting backdrop for the face, so I smashed a mirror and dug out a hole in it for the face
to poke through. I then used fake blood instead of paint to pour onto the shatter points.

Due to the unpredictability of the outcome of the face mold, the shatter patterns of the mirror and the blood stream
direction, I didn’t want to have too much expectation of the final result. However, I am particularly impressed with the
way it has turned out and how well I believe it translates my original imagined idea and it was satisfying to have
created my own interpretation of The Joker as so many have done before me. In conclusion, I believe Van Gogh said
it best with the words: “I put my heart and soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process”

 Souvenirs

For my final art major for year 12, I decided to go for something a little more personal. I wanted to look at my past and see how it has shaped me into the person I have become. I particularly wanted to go with a still life painting as it would effectively display the items I wanted to paint and I was keen to use some strategies I learned from watching Bob Ross. I gather many objects from my life so far, particularly my trips to Europe and England.

My vision with this piece was to have every object representative of something or somewhere I hold close to my heart. The meerkat, London bus, gloves, Cornish Pasty and Lamborghini are all representative of my travels to England and Europe. The photo is representative of school and my friends and the pocket watch, bowtie and drama trophy are representative of my interests and morals. And finally, the Lego pieces are representative of my home and my creativity. This whole piece was less of a message to the viewer and more of a message to myself to never forget what makes me who I am.

As further inspiration, I looked at a number of still life artists; Andrea Huelin was my inspiration for the style, Fiona Cotton for object positioning and texturing, Kate Bergin for animals and colour, and Julian Meagher for glass and crystal textures. I was particularly influence by Huelin’s painting style which involved simplistic tones and minimal brush strokes for a crisp and clean look. The other 3 artists inspired the texturing on objects such as the meerkat, the gloves, the trophy and the pocket watch. After getting the opportunity to go to the Van Gogh Alive exhibition, I noticed the soundtrack used for the gallery was made to reflect the mood of each one of Gogh’s artworks. Inspired by the exhibition, I decided to do something similar with my painting and use a song that I thought would reflect the mood of my painting and simultaneously encapsulate my life. After much searching, I remembered the song/ can see clearly now by Hothouse Flowers which seemed to fit my vision rather well.

The final piece came out in a way that I wasn’t entirely expecting but more or less liked the outcome of. I wasn’t sure if my use of Huelin’s techniques would work but, after a little practice, I was surprised how naturally they came to me. As for fulfilling my original vision for the project, I hoped that I could better display my childhood memories to the viewer but There wasn’t enough time for something that complex. Regardless, for me it will be a nice reminder of everything that I am. In the words of Doctor Who ” … we’re all different people; all through our lives, and that’s okay, that’s good, you’ve got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be.”

As time goes on

My schooling commenced fifteen years ago at St John’s Grammar and now it is coming to an end.
This year I have spent considerable time reflecting on the memories and experiences I have had
and friendships that have evolved, as well as the challenges that allowed me grow in strength and
wisdom. Time and growth became influential to my final piece. This reflection became the starting
point of my major.

I commenced my research by analysing different techniques that would allow me to express my
journey through my 12 years at school. Having an interest in both photography and embroidery, I
investigated the work of Candace Hicks and her series Common Threads, her work explored this
medium by incorporating written work, drawings and patterns.

This then led me to two different composition ideas. The first was a book with a page dedicated to
each year of schooling inspired by the Candace Hicks composition book and embroidery series
Common Threads. This was with a view to incorporate both the written word, drawings, and stories
from my schooling into an interactive art piece. Alternatively, I considered producing a double hoop
embroidery split into 12 sections (one section representative of each year of my schooling)
surrounding a watercolour and embroidered representation of Retreat House, our main school
building. As Retreat House is the focal point in our school grounds, it’s importance in the in the
centre of my body of work was integral.

I explored a variety of different embroidery techniques, colours, styles and images together to
create a cohesive piece while each section showed individuality and incorporated a specific
memory. The idea of 12 months in a year, 12 hours in a day and the image of a clock face along
with 12 years of schooling started to formulate into an idea for a composition. Collecting
schoolbooks, assignments, drawings, memorabilia, and photographs that I had saved over the
years, formed a strong, rich source of imagery and content.

To develop my piece, I decided I wanted to tell my story through thread and different embroidery
techniques. I revisited different embroidery stitches I had learnt from my mum and explored
machine embroidery including applique. Through this I also decided to start and finish the piece
with writing. Starting with a piece that I found in my Reception workbook and finishing with a letter
reflecting back on my journey through school. This shows not only how I have grown intellectually,
socially and personally, but also details the experiences I have had through school. I deliberately
chose to use simple and colourful images and embroidery techniques for the junior primary years
progressing through to more complex techniques as the piece continues.

The final composition of the double hoop embroidery collated all the styles and techniques that I
had explored. I wanted to express that different year levels had different experiences, therefore
each section uses a different technique, beginning with simplistic styles and increasing in difficulty
as the piece progresses. My work culminates in a letter written to myself, as my year 12 self, which
represents my personal, emotional, and academic growth and appreciation of all of my schooling
experiences.

Irresistible Force of Nature

Australia is surrounded by more than 36,000 kilometres of coastline and is interspersed
with rivers, waterholes and billabongs which means that almost every Australian has
childhood memories of water. Going to the beach on a hot summer’s day. Going up the
river for a family holiday. A day at the pool with your friends. I began my major by reflecting
on these memories and the beaches around Australia I have visited, from Glenelg to Bondi.
I sorted through personal photographs, to find places which had both memories and strong
visual impact.

Whilst studying Japanese in Year 11 I came across the work of Katsushika Hokusai an
artist whose traditional woodblock prints explored the theme of water. His work clearly
expressed the movement and textures of water, visually conveying the irresistible force of
nature that it is. This inspired me to consider printmaking as a possible technique for this
study. In preference to woodblock prints, I explored different lino print techniques such as
one colour, reduction, painting into one colour prints and printing on handmade paper.
This technique was also influenced by lino artists Rachel Newling and Alexandra Buckle.
These artists use techniques, colour, and strokes to create detailed and intricate textures
such as waves, ripples, and splashes in the water to add visual effects to their work. To
develop my piece, I experimented one colour printing, reduction, and the addition of
adding to the print with watercolour. I also explored how different papers achieved different
results and made my own handmade paper to experiment with. Handmade paper reduces
waste as it takes recycled paper to give it a new life. This is important to me as throughout
my schooling I have been a part of my schools AWARE group which focuses on
sustainability and world issues.

Through my experimentation I wanted to see how carving into the lino could not only reveal
the picture but also the textures in the water. Carving in different patterns, different depths
and in different directions creates the look of the fluent movement of water. My final
composition is a combination of four lino prints of a single colour on watercolour paper,
handmade paper, folded handmade paper and the lino carvings.

The final imagery I chose was sourced from photographs I had taken around Australia
including Bondi Beach, Clayton Bay, Port Elliot, and Middleton Beach. My final
composition, which is a combination of four different lino prints, each a depiction of a
distinctive collaboration of memories and water. Below the lino prints are three piles of
misprints and others not chosen for the final. Two piles of the prints on watercolour paper
and one pile of the handmade paper. This was to show the process and challenges to
create the final prints.

A Sense of Childhood

Childhood memories are a distinct part of my life, forming who I am today. I took inspiration from my
childhood, particularly memories of the beach for this installation.

In forming my practical piece of work, I was inspired by the exhibitions ‘Out of Sight! Art of the Senses’
and ‘Tate Sensorium’. Tate Sensorium uses the 5 senses to enhance the experience of viewing art. It
allows you not only to view a piece of work, but to create an experience. Using this concept, I wanted
to focus on how the 5 senses could be combined into an installation to enhance the viewing experience.
I began to explore how each of the senses could be interpreted and formed into artworks. I was also
inspired by the works of Jane Perkins who adds repurposed materials into her pieces to create
interesting textures into work.

In addition to the 5 senses, my artwork focused on childhood memories. I began exploring significant
things from my childhood before identifying my most distinct memory: the beach. The beach is
something I was always drawn to as a child, I remember as a child being lured by bodies of water,
jumping into any puddle I saw. Upon this thought I considered the components that drew me to it. To
explore this theme, I focus on the 5 senses, exploring how they enhance my memories and experiences
such as distinct smells or tastes. I experiment with various mediums to explore how I can interpret each
of the senses into works of art. I experiment with using edible materials and explored various textures.
I wanted my final composition to capture the essence of my childhood memories. I display my childhood
memories through photos, filling the space of my installation. I turn the space into a representation of
the beach using sand and fabric. The movement of the fabric and the hues of blue and green create
the image of water. I choose to make these colours vibrant as a representation for the way I saw the
world as a child. I enhance the viewing experience of this piece using four of the 5 senses: touch, sound,
smell, and sight. I add the scent of sea salt, the feel of wind and the sound of ocean waves in creating
a space that is reminiscent of being at the beach.

The final composition allows you to experience my childhood memories. Sight, smell, sound, and touch
enhances the viewing experience of this piece. I wanted viewers of my work to be able to step into the
installation and gain the feeling of being at the beach as if experiencing these distinct moments from
my childhood.

Elegance of Belair

By exploring the relationships between trees and the environment, as well as the historical and cultural
connections of gumtrees and Australia, I gained an understanding of the importance of trees in our
lives.

In the creation of this practical piece of work, I was inspired by the environment around me in the
Adelaide hills. I admired the unique, natural environment around me, in particular the scenery in the
Belair National Park. Deforestation and the destruction of the natural landscape for developmental
purposes is a concern of mine, acting as inspiration for my final piece.

In starting the exploration of this theme, I briefly looked at the various aspects of trees such as forests
and roots before deciding to focus on gum trees and the texture of bark. Intrigued by the patterns and
texture of bark I began experimenting with mediums to find how I could replicate the look of bark. I
explored how different materials effected texture to find what best replicated the look of bark before
settling on using moulding paste. I also investigated a range of mediums from water colour to pastels
to see which allowed me to build depth and dimension into my work.

I was inspired by the works of Hans Heysen as he centres his work on gumtrees in the Australian
landscape. His paintings depict old gumtrees dominating the landscape around them, I take inspiration
from this concept, creating a composition of a gumtree that takes over the canvas.

I wanted to show the personality of the tree, as if painting the portrait of a person. Walking through
Belair National Park, I was intrigued by the ways trees interacted with one another and the world around
them, twisting and turning into the sky. I became enchanted by one of the trees, admiring how the light
struck its surface. I explored various angles of my tree under different lighting to understand how it
changed the feel of the overall composition

My final composition is an acrylic painting that depicts a closeup of a gum tree under rays of golden
sunlight. I chose to keep the background for my work a muted deep blue, contrasting to the hues of
green, grey, and brown in my work making the tree the focus of this piece. This creates an intimacy
between the viewer and the tree, allowing you to analyse the texture on its surface and the way the
branches twist and interact with the world around them. I wanted viewers of my work to be captivated
by the elegance of the tree, illuminated under the beams of sunlight.

Arachnophobia

蜘蛛恐惧症（Arachnophobia）

There are six orders of insects: orthoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The latter is made up of beetles. This order has about 400,000 known species, making it the largest of all orders. They live in water, trees, or soil. These diverse insects can be found almost everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, even in our imagination.

I am an international student. I’m bold enough to take on all kinds of exciting projects, but I’m afraid of insects, big or small. For example, when I see a spider, I get so scared that my body goes into emergency mode: fight or flight. Usually accompanied by a rapid heartbeat and dilated pupils. At the same time, I even sweat, shake, etc. This condition is known as arachnophobia.

In the beginning, I needed to think about what my main themes were. After Mind Map, I decided to explore things that scared me. Because insects are what I fear most, I want to make a theme about insects, to show my fear of them and to overcome my fear of insects. My two major themes are combined, and the final product will be presented as an insect box about one meter long. At the bottom of the insect, the box was a spider of about the same size. The bugs in the insect box are presented in watercolour, Intaglio Printing – Drypoint etching, sketch, and Metal Shim (3D).

Before I started working, I visited and photographed many insect boxes in Adelaide Museum, which also inspired me. I use it as a reference. Most of the insect boxes in the museum are displayed as drawers. My final product is a transparent box. After visiting the museum, I had a general idea of what I should do. Then I began to collect the works of artists related to insects, analyse, and study them, and use the works of these artists as a reference for copying. At a later stage, I began to paint insect photos that I collected, including watercolours, sketches, and Intaglio Printing – Drypoint etching. These are all created by my teachers and my ideas. Influenced by Karen Genoff, I used Metal Shim to mimic real insects. Karen Genoff’s Metal Shim insects are like real insect specimens, but she uses special materials to create different insects. It presents not only an incredible and beautiful appearance, but it also provides relief for those who are afraid of insects. Because it doesn’t look terrible. I also used Intaglio Printing – Drypoint Etching technology to make some insect patterns. Then I used watercolours for the colouring. By chance, I found a company called FRAHM that had a variety of beetles on its packaging, which gave me instant inspiration. I noticed that the colourful beetle patterns on their boxes looked as if they had been painted in watercolour. But it’s not. Watercolour and pigment are my main painting methods in this work. I tried to recreate the appearance and colour of real insects with watercolour. In the process of using watercolour, I enjoy using it to paint, and carefully and patiently paint the details of the insect body. Watercolours make it easier to recreate the colourful insects themselves.

In addition, I also use the sketch in my works. I like drawing with sketches very much. Although it is black and white, it can make the painting look more three-dimensional. I chose to sketch insects on a double A4 paper. The sketching tools I use include soft charcoal pencils, medium charcoal pencils. Since the photos I referenced was in black and white, the sketch happened to be in black and white, which was also a better reproduction of the photos and a greater degree of restoration.

I spent a lot of time creating the last part of my work: the spider. In my mind, I want to make the spider bigger than the insect box, and then lie on the bottom of the insect box to give the audience a sense of terror, but also want to show that the spider supports the whole insect box. The purpose of making big spiders is to show the audience a sense of fear of giant things, because many people including me are afraid of giant things, if spiders get bigger, will it also bring about fear of giant things? I think it will because that’s how I feel. In making this spider, I referenced Louise Bourgeois’s spider work. The tools I used were wire, tape, newspaper, impasto, glue sticks, paint, and wool. First, I had to choose the spider. I chose one from some spider photos I had collected. I first used wire weaving and winding to create the shape and structure of the spider. Then I filled it with newspaper and taped it in place. Before using the white glue, I wrapped the tape in all directions to cover all the newspapers, to better use the pigments for the colour behind. I then applied impasto to the spider and used a brush to create hairy flu, mimicking the hair of a real spider. The impasto covered every part of the spider and the front and back. After the impasto dried, I used pigments for colouring. First, I used black pigments for colouring, then I used orange, red and white to draw the pattern on the spider’s belly, and then I used brown, black, and white (with a dry brush) to make the spider look as natural and scary as possible. Finally, I use wool to make the hair on the spider’s body, I tear each wool into floc, and then use glue sticks to dip each leg of the spider, which is to restore the hair on the spider’s leg.

Eventually, fix all the works into the box and give them funny names. Then fake spider webs were used to cover the large spider and plastic spiders were used to decorate it.

Musical Memories

The definition of music is different for everyone, although we speak in different languages music is universally understood. Some people like pop music, some people like light or dancing music, but in my opinion classical music is unrivalled, That’s why classical music became my inspiration. Classical music must have violin and piano, with different instruments added to form a more layered sense of music. My first impression of classic music was for the violin, it is elegant instrument and it reminds me of my childhood, when I was 5 years old I had an opportunity to do a recital. I found that I appreciated the music and the rhythm of the performance, which was softer and more lyrical than the modern pop music played by violins and with other instruments. Therefore, I started my violin journal at my primary school. Many hours were spent to practicing the song Canon in D by Pachelbel which is one of my favourite pieces to performe with cello, piano and with my friends. Music has the ability to evolve powerful emotional responses, and the components and patterns can represent unique and different feelings in individuals. My body of work explores the connection between music and art with a specific focus on classical instruments.

I looked of the art work by Pablo Picasso. Picasso’s Guitar Cubist paintings provided the inspiration for my initial ideas. His disjointed parts of instruments challenged my pictural sketches pushing my boundaries allowing me to broaden my exploration. The idea of breaking down an object into different planes, viewing the work from different viewpoint helped me to create my Picasso inspired composition limiting the colour range to different tones of three different colours helped to create unity in the piece. Picasso created few painting that are influenced by music and at the same time I was highly influenced by his works, that how the music and the drawing that can be fused together. I explored the combination of different instruments by researching his works such as, ‘Three Musicians’ and ‘Violon et raisins’ by attempting the style of the composition of combination found in ‘synthetic cubism ’. After carefully observing Picasso’s brushwork, I chose a violin to be my main object in this project, then I stared to do the research of the details of the violin, such as, different century of violin looks like, photographed some instruments as a resource for a ‘field study’. Thirdly, I tried to do some combination like Picasso, I used different colour of paper and I also used paint. I wanted to see what happen if I use some music paper within my works, however, I used the sheet music to fill in areas of my composition. After exploring colour combinations, I chose the tone of colour that similar with the violin, which is an important part, the naturalism colour will allows for a connecting. creating emotional appeal. Black and red will bring out a feeling of excited and even is angry, grumpy, and however, when the colour are used of pink, blue, green, those encourage the audiences to think. about having a fancy tea time with friends and also having some music. I found out that Picasso paintings usually used of some darker colour which give a thought of the feeling that he is alone and sad when he is listen to this music and painting.

Musical memories, explores the musical instrument in different way. Although I did not continue my violin when I came Australia, I still went to concerts and listened to the music which played by violin, cello and piano. Once on the way to went to the performance, I saw a person who performed at the street, she used on unusual violin which is colour of green and blue. This caught my attention, violin must be brown! However, I stared to doing some research on the different colour of music and instruments. I realised that people fix the colour of violin or cello with the dark and light brown, I have been tried to be different colour for my second major of art. Through my research and experiment, I explored the colour between music and art, I chose white as my main tone of the artwork. Due to the reason that the colour of white will expressed a sense of purity, clean, and peaceful. Firstly, I tried to use the paper to build a scripture of violin, which is difficult then I thought, as the paper is easy to alter with another the colour and it’s easily to alter the shape the violin, but I. couldn’t get the refined with the joints, so therefore, I changed to try the clay, which solve the problems from the paper artwork. Hence, I experimented in clay in different way to put the small pieces together, I had drafted some idea in my book, but some of them is too complicated, however, I changed my design to create this – my final work, which I believe that it is not too complex with the instruments combined.

The purpose of my final body of work is shows a strong connection between music and art. I would. Hope audiences can understand the relationship individuals have with music and the emotions that can form. Music and art are unique and different foe everyone. Classical music reasonable deeply with me, I hope everyone can find their music.