SAC Art

Friday 21st February - Art Gallery of New South Wales

On the 21st of February, Visual Arts students from Year 11, like myself and Year 12 were given an opportunity to visit The Art Gallery of New South Wales. Here, we were able to view Cao Fei: My City is Yours, as well as the yearly ArtExpress exhibition. Upon arriving at Cao Fei’s exhibition, her sense of energy of the contemporary metropolis filled the room. As a group, we entered the exhibition via a replica of a 1960s Beijing Foyer and exited through the infamous Marigold Sydney Yum Cha restaurant. It was an immersive wonderland of both the past and the future cities. It featured the daily lives of Chinese people and China’s rapid economic growth and urbanisation. Neon-lit installations punctuated through Cao Fei’s virtual worlds, and the interactive nature of the exhibition connected us more deeply to her work. In the exhibition, we jumped into foam pits, listened and watched documentaries and sci-fi films, and played VR games and vintage arcade machines. It was truly a work of art, as she integrated aspects of her city, Beijing and took it into a level of her own perspective to feature their culture across multiple cities. 

After visiting Cao Fei’s exhibition, we were able to walk our way back to the gallery’s South Building and view the annual ArtExpress exhibition. This was primarily focused for the Year 11’s as a source for the artmaking and development of work component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts. Outstanding artworks were shown and one of the artworks that really stood out for me is Oscar Hartley’s ‘Connection Unavailable’. I found that he is able to address a contemporary issue, with the rising growth of technology into the lives of people. Where he is able to capture the “pervasive disconnect between humanity and nature that underscores our digital age.” When viewed closely, the Hex code can be seen from the glitch he reflected in his artwork, which I found to be really interesting. Overall, visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales was such an insightful experience as we were able to immerse ourselves through Cao Fei’s cityscape, filled with interactive elements of the world of neon, street dance and pop music. As well as cultivating ideas from the outstanding artwork of the 2024 HSC Visual Arts students.

• Sofia Manbutas Year 11

The excursion to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where Year 11 & 12 Visual Arts students were given the opportunity to visit the Cao Fei exhibition and Art Express, was an insightful and immersive experience. The Cao Fei exhibition was filled with really unique installations that were interactive and engaging through the exploration of futuristic and contemporary concepts, and the Art Express exhibiting past HSC body of works was very inspiring and introduced a range of new ideas that could potentially be incorporated within my own artmaking practice.

• Catharina Purwadi Year 11

On our excursion to the Art Gallery of NSW, we were able to fully immerse ourselves in the surreal humour and cyber futurism of Cao Fei's art. We also had the opportunity to see artworks displayed in the 2025 art express exhibit to get some inspiration for our own HSC Body of works. 

• Micaela Sibucao Year 11

Year 7 - Popular Culture & Pop Art

Year 7 students have started 2025 by getting to know each other through art, creating self-portraits that showcase their interests, likes, and dislikes. This has been a fun and engaging way for them to connect with their peers while also showcasing/ developing their practical skills.

Building on this, students are now diving into Popular Culture/Pop Art - discovering its impact on society today and comparing it to popular trends from past decades. As part of this exploration, students have been introduced to influential pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Claes Oldenburg and analysed their methods and meanings behind their practice. 

Over the next few weeks, they will create their own Pop Art inspired artworks, using packaged food as their subject. Students will implement the newly learnt grid method technique to transfer images as well as a range of photography techniques to capture their own reference image. 

Stay tuned for some exciting and colourful creations!

Year 8 - Surrealist Ceramic Mugs in Progress

Year 8 students have recently been introduced to the art movement Surrealism, exploring key artists, distinctive characteristics, and concepts such as the subconscious mind, juxtaposition, and scale. Building on this foundation, students have looked at contemporary Australian artist Reg Mombassa, whose work is influenced by Surrealism, as inspiration for their ceramic mug designs.

In 8VISAJ, students have now completed the design and construction phase of their ceramic mugs. Using techniques such as coiling, pinch pot, or slab construction, they have successfully transformed their 2D designs into unique 3D artworks. We are now looking forward to the next exciting stage - adding colour and detail through underglazing!

Year 9 - Introduction to Portraiture

Year 9 students have been exploring the art of portraiture, learning how artists use portraits to express individual, community, cultural, and national identity throughout history. Alongside this, they have developed key practical skills, including understanding head proportions, drawing facial features, and using graphite pencils to create tonal variation through the value scale. They have also practiced the grid method to accurately transfer imagery.

Students have applied these skills to create their own self-portraits. For many, this was their first time attempting a detailed/realistic portrait, and we are incredibly impressed with their results!

Year 11 - Prehistoric Art & beginning our Collection of Works. 

Our senior Visual Arts students have been actively revisiting the foundations of the course, refining their understanding of subject-specific terminology and the three core content areas. To deepen their appreciation of art history, they have explored prehistoric art, examining the world of early artists, their creative methods, and the purpose behind their works.

Students have now begun creating the first piece for their Collection of Works—a sculpture made from recycled cardboard. Inspired by their chosen object, they will experiment with various techniques to capture unique characteristics, textures, and surface qualities. This piece will be part of their final Collection of Works, which is set for completion early next term.

A big thank you to the SAC community for donating cardboard to support the sculptural aspect of this task.