Visual Arts 2023
HSC Bodies of Work
Welcome to the Ascham 2023 HSC Bodies of Work catalogue—celebrating the innovative talents of our Year 12 artists.
2023 Year 12 Artists
Welcome to the Ascham 2021 HSC Bodies of Work catalogue where our girls have continued to shine and showcase their wonderful talents. And while we were also hoping to exhibit the works this year in our annual HSC Art Show in the Packer Foyer – we are nonetheless pleased to present three works from each girl’s Body of Work in this digital format.
This year’s exhibition displays the work of 36 Visual Arts students in a range of media areas, including drawing, graphic design, painting, printmaking, textiles and photomedia. The outstanding work the girls have produced represents a significant relationship between themselves and their teachers, and is the product of several terms of experimentation and sheer hard work.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Visual Arts Department, who alongside me have taught Year 12 – Vanessa Bellemore, Vanessa Chalmers, Lauren Henry and Steve Lowther – for their exceptional work in guiding the girls through this process. Their experience, knowledge and resolve to see each and every girl do their very best has resulted in a range of highly resolved artworks. Thanks must also go to Lauren Henry for taking and processing the photographs for this online catalogue, and to Andrew Mallon for his terrific work in formatting it.
The prestigious Ascham Foundation Art Award (for a work that will come into the School’s permanent collection) will now be announced at Prizegiving later in the year.
Congratulations to each of our talented Year 12 students, and on behalf of the whole Visual Arts Department I wish you well for your HSC and the years beyond.
Jeff Morabito | Head of Visual Arts/Design & Technology
Ella Bailey
Frangibility
Noun: Frangibility
The quality of being easily damaged or destroyed.
Adjective: Frangible
Breakable or fragile.
Phrase: In the face of fire, the environment displays its frangibility.
Matilda Baldry
Paranormal Journey
My body of work explores a Surrealist outlook on the power of our dreams. The ephemeral nature of our dreams can be connected to moments within our life. Despite the absurdity of it, the paranormal journey we are taken on while asleep can feel like reality.
Roisin Carey
Reface, Deface
Layers upon layers, we paint with intent, refacing and masking what lies within. And yet with each stroke, defacing the facade, whispers of inner thoughts cascade and flow, permeating outwards as we let them show. Contrasting black and white imagery with the warmth of skin tones, evokes the tension between individuals internal and external experience. As the inner conscience journeys outside, as thoughts made flesh, they bridge the divide, intertwine and metamorphosise.
Nathalie Chiba
Sentient
My body of work represents the five stages of grief, exploring the emotional repercussions that are imposed on our psyche, physical and spiritual self as sentient beings. Drawing inspiration from the works of Bill Henson, I employ ominous lighting and utilisation of low shutter speed to capture the essence of each stage in this transformative process. The use of text serves as a poignant reminder of the cyclical nature of grief and its impact on individuals.
Holly Crawford
Cruel Thrill
In the realm of violence, evil resides within the hearts and minds of those trophy hunters who, driven by desire for power and regard for social status, kill. My work delves into the sinister pursuit of hunting for personal gratification, exposing the disregard exhibited by trophy hunters who view animals merely as objects to be collected.
Ella Davies
Nirōpa (Farewell)
My body of work reflects on the complex sense of grief that comes with the generational dissipation of cultural ties. Drawing on my own mixed-Indian heritage, faded ghost-like portraits of my family line gradually grow smaller out from my grandmother, centred as the last person alive holding a true understanding of cultural customs. The reflecting cityscapes of London and Mumbai beneath aim to capture both the eternal intertwining of these cultures as well as their innate separation as facets of my identity.
Billie Dubos
The Graceful Blur
My body of work explores the intricacies of the human body, as I utilise illumination as an artistic medium, harnessing the power of movement and celebrating the essence of our physicality. This form of medium seeks to draw attention to the extension of the body from a dancer’s perspective and capture a story through continuous movement.
Ashly Fan
Connections
My body of work aims to depict the connection that my family and I have with our culture, particularly pertaining to our ‘roots’, and where we come from, as well as including the additional aspect of our Australian identity, through my parent’s immigration. By collaging different images together, I hope to establish the different aspects of each of our lives that are brought together, along with our experiences that make us who we are today.
Elise Havens
The Individual
Who are you? The age-old question, simultaneously simple and complex in nature. What makes you special? What makes you stand out? What makes you, you?
Zoe Hill
Lost in Transit
Lost in Transit explores familiar idioms and their complex cross-cultural miscommunication. By drawing literal interpretations of these idioms in the context of travel imagery, I am highlighting the problems we encounter when making translation assumptions. Juxtaposing my drawings with 3D objects, I further challenge this disconnect through the clash of media.
Isabella Huang
Translation
My work explores the connection that exists between humans and music. I’m exploring the transformative power of the auditory experience and translating it to 2D. This body of work endeavours to depict the intricacies of sound and composition, and it’s influence on human movement and feeling. Through my work I aim to create a sensory journey, inviting others to embark on this shared universal experience.
Alexandra Jones
A Moment in Time
My body of work serves to address the ephemeral nature of humanity by capturing fleeting individual moments to uncover the significance of even the smallest of experiences. My unstaged, candid photographs observe individual perceptions of time in a world of chaos, exploring our collection navigation of life.
Daisy King
Cities Lost
My work explores the degradation, whether it be natural or man-made of the built environment. Often seen as the ultimate symbols of progress, our cities when at their worst highlight the problems we face in an overpopulated, poorly designed, and polluted contemporary world.
Mila Lapcevic
Idiosyncrasy
Idiosyncrasy explores the ambiguous interrelationship between the mind and the body, displaying the subject’s inner working on its exterior. By highlighting representative external elements, it reflects the subtle nuances of human experiences and one’s ability to be vulnerable and exposed. Through the experimentation and contrast between the delicate black and white imagery with the layered texts, it stimulates introspection, inviting the audience to delve into the notions of their own emotions and thoughts.
Claire Ledingham
Lost Possibility
Family is what shapes a person, but what if a part of that family is erased like they never existed in the first place? Inspired by the loss of my father, my body of work is designed to show the influence a family has on a person. My brothers and I all take parts from our mother for she made us who we are. My father however is nothing but the lost possibility of who we could have been.
Miri Leibman
Contagion
Contagion acts as an exploration into the innate human desire for control. Drawing upon the capacity and limits of the human ability to regulate our environment, my body of work explores the fraught relationship between nature and the survival of humankind. It is in nature itself that we recognise the ultimate fragility of our own existence.
Juliette Litver
Divine Intimacy
My body of work illuminates the intricate bonds of human intimacy, emphasizing the diminishing importance of physical presence within a technologically driven world. Draped subjects represent this sense of disconnect, shielding the visual element that connects us—our humanity. Inspired by Baroque and romantic Renaissance eras, my work captures the beauty of human intimacy, initiating dialogue on the importance of authentic human interaction within today’s society.
Octavia Martin
A Portrait of Personal Terrains
My work aims to capture the essence of connections and an individual’s journey. Each unique map speaks to the personal stories of every individual creating a tapestry of memories, dreams and the enduring bonds that unite a family. As well as symbolising the interconnectedness of our shared history and personal narrative that has shaped the individual.
Lucy McLaughlin
Gamble Responsibly
My work explores the rich glamour and extravagant facades that surround gambling. The glamourisation and excessive consumerism of crowds juxtaposed with the competition where participants challenge one another, representing differing conceptual values coming together. People congregate at these events with a powerful desire, spending money in excess, hopeful to win money, relying on luck and chance.
Maija McGregor
to be is to be perceived
My body of work explores the manipulated nature of selfhood and how it is influenced by external perception. Through disfiguration of the subject and abstraction of colour, I aim to express the feelings of vulnerability and uncertainty that come with being defined by others judgement.
Genevieve Michel
Conversations with Renaissance Masters
The meaning behind many of the worlds most renowned artworks is slowly being lost. My body of work explores this concept, through appropriated classical drawings combined with contemporary phrases. The combination of these two elements, displaces the original meaning of the Renaissance works to create a satirical body of work that is fun and playful.
Camilla O’Brien
Desire
Whilst prominent gender roles are being dissolved in society, women still experience the wrath of unrealistic standards. Desire explores the fetishization of women and aims to disrupt the male gaze and their object of desire. The viewer is lured in through a sense of familiarity, only to be confronted with the unknown. Through the experience of the uncanny, the audience is encouraged to reflect on their role in the ongoing objectification of women.
Jacqueline Oberg
Devoid
While exploring the concept of existence, Devoid aims to capture a dissociative sense of life. My images are a metaphor for a feeling of emotional alienation, within spaces that may seem familiar. The underlying divorce of consciousness is represented in these spaces, painting a fragmented narrative of life as we assume it to be.
Nina Riethmuller
A Grain of Sand
My body of work is an experimental study, capturing intricate textures of an overarching landscape. The black and white imagery explores the raw and untouched elements of our earth, revealing beauty in often unnoticed minute moments. I seek to provoke comforting emotions as humans realise how very small, they are in comparison to our world.
Willow Sewell
Silent Screams
My body of work aims to capture the intense invisible emotions that humans experience. Exposing the pain of merciless thoughts and feelings that are constantly screaming in your head but cannot be heard by others as they are masked with exterior expression. Illuminating the reality of being trapped by your own unforgiving emotions.
Georgia Shelley
The Pursuit of Perfection
My body of work aims to examine the burden of expectations experienced by teenagers, both self-imposed and enforced upon them. It attempts to depict the quiet and reflective moments in which raw emotions surface and contemplation occurs to produce an emotive and impactful work. Through experimenting with the tedious technique of stippling, I aim to tangibly materialise the profound intensity and pressure which defines the adolescent experience.
Lucy Shepherd
Family, Sovereignty, Death
My body of work is an introspective exploration of Queen Elizabeth II. I aimed to explore themes associated with her life including Family, Sovereignty, and Death. Inspired by the works of MC Esher, Banksy, and Rob Gonsalves, the work, serves as a contemplative dialogue between the viewer and the monarch. I seek to unravel the layers of her public persona, using concealed images and symbols, offering a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the world’s most recognised figures.
Bemy Sirisatkun
A Backpackers Paradise
Commonly referred to as a ‘backpackers paradise’, Bondi is a famous tourist magnet that captivates millions of visitors every year. During the day, thousands of people swarm the beach, crowded and congested, though at night, everyone disappears. Now that the site has become a ghost town, vacant and deserted, the unoccupied coast allows one to digest its true ambiance.
Lucia St Leon
Paper Constructs
Our experiences with the media cause a nuanced perception of the world around us; we become heedless of our natural environment. My body of work challenges this by experimenting with light and fragments of the natural earth, through my own photography and found images, captured and reframed through dioramas. I entice viewers to doubt the perception of imagery they are confronted with, thereby questioning the legitimacy and tangibility of the media we consume.
Sabrina Stitt
Artificial Disturbance
Taking inspiration from Artificial Intelligence (AI), my body of work explores the discomfort surrounding the development of technology and the continuous threat that it seems to pose to modern society. How AI learns the darkest parts of humanity and manages to reflect them back at us unfiltered, viscerally disturbs us in a way that’s beyond words. How can we coexist with machines that don’t hide their humanity?
Amelia Tran
Tangled
My body of work depicts the interconnectedness of the human body and mind. The lines fraying at the edges of the artwork and the lines seen with in the work, express the complicated experiences we all have as human beings. The most terrifying aspect of human life is understanding the physical and psychological trauma that we are all capable of.
Matilda Walker
Wired
Our bodies are wired in a not too dissimilar way to a machine. My body of work examines the intricate relationship between human biology and bodily organisms with man-made machines.
