Visual Arts Showcase 2022

Tali Santos

Title: Portraits of Mullum
Statement: A community of eccentric individuals thriving within my home town: Mullumbimby. A haven for self expression that nurtured my exploration of creativity. My works take form through the use of white charcoal on black paper - a medium that’s allowed me to capture, through structural realism, the beauty within individuals.

Summah Young

Title: Growing Pains
Statement: My Body of Work represents me at different stages of life and objects from my childhood that hold a special place in my heart and have grown older with me. These drawings have been created using a range of different grade pencils on paper to achieve a realistic effect.

Harrison Capner

Title: Birds of a Feather
Statement: My work represents how I would see Australian bird species if they were human. Each image represents a specific stereotype, whether it’s a tradie, a stand up comedian, a person who works out, fashionistas or a party goer. I combined my interest and skills in drawing, photography and multimedia to produce this Body of Work.

Lucy McPherson

Title: Untitled#disaster
Statement: Paper, cardboard, wood, polymer clay, wire, plastic and found objects are all used in my Major Work which was inspired by my interest in historical disasters and their recurrence. I have recontextualised traditional artworks, contemporary media and included found objects as inspired by my artist of influence, Joseph Cornell, into six windows of world history, past and present. Each window alludes to the interconnectedness of worldly events through history.

Felicity Redman

Title: Tender Recollections
Statement: My Body of Work, Tender Recollections explores the connection we have with different places in our lives, and the nostalgic experience of returning to them. Inspired by the works of Claude Monet and Joseph Cornell, in each box, I encapsulate the memories I have of an important location in my own life, sharing both its physical and intangible qualities. Through the use of traditional embroidery techniques, combined with collage and found objects, I am conveying the essence of a place. This allows the viewer to not only share in my memories and experiences, but also connect with their own.

Elizabeth Cung Tha Bawi Hniang

Title: Liam Cia Tuanbia (Faded Memories)
Statement: My Body of Work, Liam Cia Tuanbia (Faded Memories) conveys recollections of my family's journey as refugees through the savage jungle to reach my father and safety. My ceramic forms are physical representations of the memories conveyed to me by my mother and my own memories as a young child of the wild inhospitable jungle we hid in as a young family to escape my war ravaged home. The bleached and fading white ceramics are inspired by my artist of influence, ceramicist Cristina Tofino, and the stylised organic forms reminiscent of the naïve foliage as influenced by my second artist of influence, Henri Rousseau in The Dream, 1910. I have used clay, modelling clay, acrylic paint, wire and wood in my Major Work.

Milly Hall

Title: Playing House
Statement: My Major Work is representative of the four houses I have lived in as a child. Through the vibrant use of colour, stylised shapes and rhythmic patterning, each of the totems symbolise a collection of the most important memories from my childhood homes. Jenny Orchard, my artist of influence has provided significant inspiration toward my own art practice particularly through her distinctive use of stylised shape, form and surface embellishment. Clay, polymer clay, dowel, acrylic paint have all been incorporated into my Major Work.

Samara Sutton

Title: I Love My Pets
Statement: "It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well. I dream my painting, and I paint my dream". Vincent Van Gogh

I made the dog and cat paintings because they are part of my family. The first painting I made is Skywalker the cat in the 'Starry Night', 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh. I chose' Starry Night' for Skywalker because he is a relaxed cat and he blends with the swirls. The second painting is Sarge wearing a Vincent Van Gogh suit from his 'Self Portrait', 1889. The third painting is Ava as Mona Lisa and my fourth painting is Lucky in Vincent Van Gogh's garden painting called ' Butterflies and Poppies',1890. Oil pastel and acrylic paint on canvas are the materials I have used in my Major Work.

Mia Bolsdon

Title: Memory Lane
Statement: Memory Lane alludes to the sad yet happy memories of someone I loved that passed away and left me feeling numb with grief. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's use of intense colour, creating life and energy in his work, became an important artist of influence for me to convey my feelings about my Grandpa. I related to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec because his pieces are often sharply satirical, but he was also capable of great sympathy. When my Grandpa died, I put on a brave face, but it has left an empty space in my heart. I know my Grandpa looks over me from heaven and my Body of Work reminds me of all the precious moments I had with him before his passing. Conte crayons and chalk pastels on paper have been used in my work.

Flynn Brown

Title: Pots of Imperfection
Statement: I have used the development of my Body of Work as a means to understand and explore my own identity and inherent connection to the Wailwan People. My work aims to intertwine my life experiences with new understandings through fragments of a sophisticated culture that has been made largely invisible due to dispossession, neglect and ignorance.

Finlay Buchanan

Title: Superposition
Statement: Superposition is the idea of the world from outside the perspective of time, a fifth dimensional point of view where time is not a straight line.

Noah Campbell

Title: Northern Rivers Saga
Statement: My Artwork is heavily influenced by the cover of 'X-Men #1, 1991' which was illustrated by Jim Lee. I replaced the setting and characters to reflect a school scene. My work reflects the chaos of school times and reference how teachers can sometimes feel like villains.

Harper Anthonysz

Title: The Power of It
Statement: My work explores the relationship between fear and power while challenging the audience's perceptions of anxiety. Elements and scenes from Greek myths are used to embody aspects of my anxiety while simultaneously commenting on how anxiety is separate from me. 

Ruby Hussey

Title: Sensitivity
Statement: The stimulus of this Body of Work was exploring deep into my little sister's world by bringing an immersive and tactile experience to the audience. The overstimulation of rough and soft, smooth and itchy fabrics, and the negative and positive connotations that come with touch sensitivity that can affect the body are conveyed. 

Cormac Campey

Title: Impermanence
Statement: As life moves at a faster and faster pace, I am taken by the impermanence of the world around me. So much of what we encounter and experience is transient, that it may as well be an illusion. These photo/film-based works are expressions and experimentations of the ethereal quality of light, colour and perhaps even life itself.

Luca Martin

Title: Taking Root
Statement: In a fast paced world full of conflicting interests and beliefs, how does one root themselves? Where do they find their sense of direction? How do they find understanding and the confidence and context from which to act? 

Emily Wiltshire

Title: Life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how we react
Statement: My Body of Work provides insight into the zones of regulation I use on a daily basis to self-regulate by grouping my state of alertness and feelings into coloured zones. This provides me with strategies to control emotional impulses, manage sensory needs, and improve my overall ability to problem solve.

Mackenzie Jackson

Title: Unbreakable Bonds
Statement: Unbreakable Bonds consists of family portraits which depict the loving connections between a number of my family members and I. These pieces individually represent the evident loving nature between me and my brother, grandfather and mother, and permanently encapsulate unforgettable memories. Alive or deceased, these connections will remain prevalent and significant in my life, and my artworks depict the unbreakable bonds throughout the entirety of our lifetimes and beyond, remaining as a visual reminder of these treasured memories brought back to life.

Lara Bennett

Title: Generations
Statement: Generations is a drawing of my sister, Grandma and me. This drawing displays people in my life who have been significant to my development and growth and I consider myself to be a reflection of these people. I selected drawing as my medium to capture as much detail as possible in order to fully show the effect of time in each individual portrait, as well as the tiny, unique features of each person.

Alana Crisp

Title: Dusk
Statement: My artworks Dusk captivate the beauty of my two best friends, my bird and some family members. All of these artworks like ‘dusk’ have played a beautiful part in my life. I have chosen my two best friends as they were the ones who have picked me up through my darkest of times. My bird and family are also important to me. Painting them in light pastel colours shows the joy they bring me.

Holly Porter

Title: Wanderlust
Statement: Wanderlust, is a series of self portraits made to express my longing for travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being in lockdown because of the coronavirus is frustrating for a wanderlust person like me. This has ignited a kind of longing for travel I did not know I had before. Confined to my home by COVID-19 lockdowns, I decided to draw the things I miss most; travelling. I have been to 14 countries and counting, and my portraits convey my real life experiences within six different countries that I have been lucky enough to travel to. Attempting to capture a colourful moment in time, a scene of myself in the late golden hours of the day. My Artworks were my way of ‘travelling’ while not being able to do so. 

John Haeusler

Title: Synthetic Disasters
Statement: Synthetic Disasters is a set of four digital artworks that depict a set of humanoid monsters with various objects sprouting from their backs and each representing a different “man made'' disaster. Each monster is very large in size to represent the whole of humanity and each monster has a unique pose and set of items sprouting from their backs to symbolise a different issue created by man, for example, the second piece represents war and warfare, as evidenced by the multiple guns. Each piece represents global issues caused by humanity that only humanity can solve.

Shernay Seker

Title: Diversity of the Land
Statement: Diversity of the Land is a series of natural Australian landscape paintings that express the multifaceted Australia, reflecting and emphasising the colours and diversity in our country. Through my art l have highlighted how these landscapes are diverse through the colour palate, conveying that each painting explores the different natural Australian environments from all six states and territories of Australia, including the wetlands and dry land landscapes, to oceans and coastlines and deserts and rainforests.

Maya Parker

Title: Artists
Statement: My piece Artists refers to those who so strongly resonated and influenced me throughout my own artistic journey. I wanted to, through the series of portraits, highlight the personalities that I have a deep appreciation for. Through the aesthetic simplicity and presentation of the pieces I was enabled to illuminate their individual characters, through subtle yet emotive expressions. 

Jaime Malone

Title: Go Back to Where You Came From
Statement: Go Back to Where You Came From is a collection of paintings, inspired by photographed portraits in the Refugee Art Project, which is a movement choreographed by the Refugee Council of Australia. The aim of the work is to confront the audience and raise awareness of the number and variety of human beings that are excluded from Australian citizenship. 

Elliana Cox

Title: Refuge
Statement: This work is ink pen drawing (stained with water) and explores the devastation left in wake of the 2022 floods in Coraki.

Sancia Crotty

Title: The Time of a Vintage Dragon
Statement: The Time of a Vintage Dragon is a collection of works that explores the repurposing of found materials and breathing new life into them through collage, blackout poetry and paper making. The process was characterised by responding to chance and serendipity.

Mekenzie Healey

Title: The Retrospective Shift
Statement: The Retrospective Shift is a series of urban landscapes that have been simplified into elements of shape and colour to reflect a between world beyond this life. Each work is created through several layers of screenprinting and depict a lone figure navigating this muted world as if continuing their previous lives.

Paloma Vazquez

Title: Carlos Alberto Vazquez
Statement: Under the ongoing effects of migration and the pandemic on my family, my Argentinian grandfather, Spanky, passed away, and his death has been confusing for my personal identity and sense of place. Through my Major Work, I wanted to communicate the impact of death across trans-continental families, and how they blur the ties between the family bonds that stretch across the world. I hope to convey a sense of the gentle and deep man he was.

Ebony Kym Conrick

Title: Fend for Yourselves
Statement: This Body of Work explores the tragic conflict currently surging between Russia and Ukraine, highlighting the atrocities of war. The conflict has forced thousands to be displaced, with citizens fleeing their homes in an attempt to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. It highlights the destruction the Russian military has inflicted upon the defenceless Ukrainian civilians.

Emma Foley

Title: Nothing is Black and White
Statement: Inspired by the many faces we see on screen, my Body of Work aims to exaggerate the intense emotion portrayed by actors, and how the audience responds to unsettling and intense depictions of grief, anger, and depression. A selection of cinematic films have been chosen, all of which have impacted myself, either through an emotional response or by allowing a new form of understanding.

Maya Boronski

Title: The Brevity of Existance
Statement: This Body of Work explores the impact of humans on the native fauna and flora of Australia. Exposing the continued threat to habitat and wildlife from farming, introduced species and urbanisation. The purpose of my artwork is to draw attention to Australian wildlife being killed and inevitably their extinction. It emphasises our duty of care to protect native wildlife and to encourage a connection with our natural environment.

Malia Poole

Title: Ruins
Statement: This Body of Work represents my deep connection to the ocean and the marine environment of Australia. My fears for the coral reefs and our fragile marine ecosystems under constant and increasing threats from pollution, and damage caused by climate change, is reflected specifically in the coral bleaching and the damage we have caused to the beauty of the marine ecosystem.

Lara Crawford

Title: Mindfield: Your Body is a Battlefield
Statement: This Body of Work explores the formation of female identity in an ever changing, unrelentless landscape of the beauty myth; pressures, perceptions, comparisons, stereotypes, expectations, uncertainty, modifications and reality. The work explores how women have been subjected to particular stereotypes over the course of art history and how this has created unrealistic beauty standards. The overlapping faces and bodies symbolise the uniqueness of all women and convey our resilience, beauty and power.

Carmen Stock

Title: Pelt, Crack, Burn
Statement: Pelt, Crack, Burn reflects the erratic weather patterns that are producing increasingly destructive weather systems. The ferocity and frequency seems to be unrelentless. The work explores a personal response to the natural disasters that have befallen our local area, but also in Australia, and in fact, the world. If we don’t take environmental action now we are going to lose everything.

Koby Morris

Title: Kunama Namadgi (Kusciuszko after Tilers)
Statement: The multi-panel oil on canvas directly appropriates the work of Eugene Von Guérard, and his 1863 oil on canvas, North-East View from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko, in which he masterfully captures Australia’s picturesque landscape in his signature German-Romanticism style. This European representation is questioned by Imants Tillers, and my work attempts to explore this notion further. The intentionally anti-naturalistic depiction of Mount Kosciuszko utilises colour and shape to construct a landscape that poses questions about ownership, diposession, environmental concerns and a fractured cultural landscape.

Phoenix Brooke-McLaughlan

Title: 1974.12.12m2022.14.4m
Statement: This Body of Work explores climate change and its direct impact on our local area in the 2022 floods. It reflects the human toll; emotional, physical and psychological. The dichotomous tension between consumerism and the destruction of the globe is the overriding theme. My environment, the Northern Rivers dramatically changed when homes, communities and businesses were flooded and Xavier Catholic College became a support centre as hundreds of people poured into the school allowing the full impact of the disaster to reach me.

Jasper Leckie

Title: One in Two Hundred
Statement: My Body of Work aims to illuminate and uncover the unseen of society. Byron Bay is known for its influencers, the socially elite and wealthy. However,it is also home to a growing number of outcasts, addicts, homeless and the mentally ill. I wanted to convey their endurance through loss, chronic pain and sorrow, while also capturing their character, strength and courage.

Adam Kealy

Title: Compulsion
Statement: My Body of Work conveys my reality of living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Through the use of signs and symbols from my own experiences, I convey that OCD is a spectrum of different triggers. The work reflects on the irrationality of my obsessive thoughts that are dominated with number fixations and an ever present anxiety. I have been heavily influenced by studying the Art movements and manifestos of Dada and Surrealism.

Jasmine Jones

Title: Mercy
Statement: Mercy reflects on the agonising anticipation farmers face when their land becomes barren and the longing for rain begins. When the rain clouds arrive and the first rain falls, the spark of joy returns, finally ending the emotional strain of drought, restoring the weather-beaten land to its richest state. Sculpted with clay, the medium represents the earth.