Year 10 Visual Arts Body of Works

Year 10 students have studied Video Installations by Vernon Ah Kee and Shirin Neshat, contemporary artists who present topical issues in their artworks. These artworks reflect the artists’ responses to or involvement within their society or culture. Students developed their own body of work based on personal and world issues that have significant meaning to themselves. 

Ally

I think the theme would be escapism and fantasy. The dragon would be the fantasy aspect, seeing as they aren’t real, and escapism… she’s in a secluded spot in a forest, and really getting into a song. A lot of people, including me, like to ‘escape’ from the stresses of the real world, whether that be in a book, video games, art, or something else.

I chose to draw it digitally mostly because that’s what I’m best at drawing in. Some of the features in this artwork were picked only because I could draw them well, but I think I somehow went quite outside my comfort zone for this picture, with the actually having a background thing most of all.

Brandon
Favourites

My artwork “Favourites” is an artwork of 16 different characters from 5 different cartoon television shows. In my artwork, I’m trying to communicate to the audience about how the youth duration is considered short and how kids should spend their youth to the fullest. My artwork shows this meaning through discontinued television shows, symbolizing the shortness of youth life. 

Crystal Chambers
Privilege and Suppressed

I am trying to show the audience the suppression of African American men and women and the privilege covering others’ eyes. This artwork portrays the struggles that African Americans face and the privilege given to the non-minorities as they choose to ignore and turn a blind eyes to the ongoing racism and discrimination. This is important to me as I am a non-minority but I choose to show activism to this issue because I want them to have equal rights and opportunity not how they are being currently treated.

Crystal Phung
Today, Yesterday, Welcome to Earth

In this artwork, I tried to convey the destruction of pollution on the Earth’s environment through surreal imagery. I believe that the issue of environmental damage is important as it is something that is already affecting people now and if it would continue in the future if the issue is not addressed. This artwork is inspired by a range of surrealist artists, with Shaun Tan’s art style having a prominent influence.

Czarina Sulapat
To Me, the Most Precious Thing

My work is one that is heavily inspired by Eliza Paterson’s 2017 A beautiful mind. Using a bundle of pictures of my friends, props relating to their interests, then removing the backgrounds from those photos and placing them onto a canvas, I had tried my best to convey them in through my own eyes. Before creating this piece we were presented with the question “What are you passionate about?” I had thought long and hard about it; I had many things that meant a lot to me, leaving me undecided for a long time. A following lunch from that lesson I had then sat down with my friend, as usual, and after some shared smiles, laughs and comfortable silences, my heart had finally made its decision. Though not all of them have been represented in my works, these people are my world, some of the people I cherish most. I thought maybe, even if it's just once, I should make something about them, to show how much I care. Hopefully, they don’t get to read this, though, it’d be quite embarrassing for me. But truly, to me, they are the most precious thing.

Jaycob McLoughlin
Too Late To Save

My body of work communicates the idea of “human impact” to the audience by presenting them with the image of a koala bear, sliced in half and the missing side of his body spilling man-made objects out. I am trying to communicate that our impact on other species is immense and is not contained. The dead koala represents animals that surround us and the man- made objects flowing out of him is symbolism of our footprint. I have made my artwork stand out to the eye but also infusing the message with pop culture. To do this I have made it in a cartoon doodle-like type of drawing style. It uses a lot of bright and bold colours to attract attention and I have added a small little doodle to keep all the attention there? It is presented on a A2 cardboard sheet and is drawn with lead and Copic markers. It shows that everything we do kills the rest of the earth.

Ramya Krishnan
Just Lovely

I’m trying to show the problem within Indian and other communities about their “Fair and Lovely” problem. Both men and women at a young age are subjected to colourist behaviour from both the media, family, and friends. With this painting, I wanted to showcase my cousin who has experienced this behaviour, refusing the “Fair and Lovely” product. By doing this, I showed her refusing the colourist behaviour and finally accepting her skin colour.