Homage to Heritage explores my mother’s journey of exile from the war in Sudan to Australia. Each pot represents a different country throughout the journey, from Sudan to Egypt to Australia. For many in the Sudanese community this is a common experience. The main purpose of my body of work is to educate. The structure of the pots expresses the conflict and separation of the war in Sudan and the difficulties of transition and change through Egypt and Australia. The abstract snake on each of the pots refers to African culture as well as indicating my totem animal.

Last Chapter explores the heavy effects of consumerist society on evolution and the natural environment. In today’s world there is constant debate about climate change and the effects of modern society upon the natural world. In my body of work I represent the path of human history and its current trajectory, through the environments that supported this journey of human evolution, into a dark and unnerving environment shaped by today’s society.

My body of work expresses moments in time; interior scenes with objects that people placed sentimental value on, but are now left to simply ‘gather dust’ due to the constant sense of urgency in society which forces us to abandon these things and pursue what capitalism deems to be more worthwhile. The clock, antiques and other ordinary items represent the substance of the subject who is absent from the scene. The vintage aesthetic further references the concept of time passing. Gathering Dust explores the lingering human imprint of stillness and reflection without the actual presence of people.

Using the medium of stone sculpture, Reclining Figure represents the human figure in an abstract, distorted form. Properties of natural forms – shells, bones, eroding rocks – influenced its shape, and contrast with sharp contemporary lines in reference to modern architectural landscapes. My body of work comments on abstraction itself: beauty is found in the ‘randomness’ of natural structures and daily existence. It represents attributes of the human form literally and figuratively, exploring ideas of the ‘internal landscape’ of the human mind and the contortion of the psyche. This work uses the human figure as an organic, sculptural expression of the mind.

The ocean’s process is a ‘dynamic equilibrium’. Always changing, with a constant balance. For my body of work, I focused on a place where the ocean meets the land and created an ocean panorama consisting of aerial photography and painting. My mixed media works use a variety of painting techniques and incorporate resin that is traditionally used for commercial purposes. My intent was to create rich, layered and expressive surfaces that capitalise on the clarity and luminosity of resin to produce brilliance and depth.

Over time, our world has been modernised through innovations and industrialisation which burden and disregard the natural environment. My body of work, Gaia Blossom, uses both organic and manufactured materials to explore the intricate balance between the natural and industrial worlds. My intent is to bring attention to the presence of industrialisation in our society, and how it affects the beauty of the natural environment and society’s connection to nature itself. I have woven the colour green through each piece to represent the natural world in contrast to the cold metallic elements. A delicate nature is still retained.

Influenced by Romantic ideals, my body of work subverts historical perceptions of the divine natural landscape to express a contemporary view of the consequences of our consumerist society on nature subsequent to the Industrial Revolution. In my work, natural elements are constrained by humanity’s artificial creations. Through the use of synthetic materials and the inherent deconstruction and reconstruction of collage my intent was to reveal the reality of contemporary nature, where plastic waste and landfill have tarnished the grandeur of the divine landscape. What humans once sought to conquer is now destroyed.

Our memories are what define us, but what happens when they are shattered as a result of trauma? Memory’s fragility means it is subject to loss and distortion, affecting one’s perception of both past and present identity. My intent was to explore how the brain copes with suffering through a detachment from the external self. My personal experience of dissociative disorder has left me struggling to put the shattered pieces of the past together again. What is left of these fleeting and fragmented memories is presented to the audience as the sparse remnants of a stable sense of self.

Inspired by my studies of Bill Henson’s use of dark moody lighting, my original intent was to express the personalities and moods of my dogs in a similar manner. However, during some exploratory concept drawings with charcoal, I decided to work with charcoal on fabric and to extend and develop my ideas to represent our family as a whole, complete with moods, personalities and the strong bonds between us. I retained a monochromatic colour scheme but focused on the bright, more joyful and quirky nature of my world. The resultant body of work reveals the real bosses of our home.

'To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.' Alan Watts

I swim during times of angst. I have discovered that water is like life: sometimes peaceful and comforting, sometimes overwhelming and imprisoning. In my body of work I explore feelings of intensity and awe, representing these majestic forces through chiaroscuro and negative space on scratchboard. Is every decision we make as unforgiving as a scratch on board? I watch the bubbles flowing upwards. Breathe.

All fragile beginnings brim with potential to be perfectly equipped for survival. My body of work is a compilation of drawings and prints exploring birds – their feathers, beaks and claws – examining how this potential can be fulfilled and how transformations and mutations may lead to the death of nature.

My body of work, A Family Lunch, is a playful way to address the cyclical nature of human life. These colourful ceramic pieces represent the endless ebb and flow of life. I chose clay sculpture as a medium as it gave me the opportunity to mould many varying forms, and I was able to use a range of glazes to differentiate the pieces from each other and each life stage. The circular presentation is reminiscent of the twelve positions of the hands of a clock, referring to the endless nature of time as family members are born, grow and die.

The perception of self is commonly associated with insecurity and our individual flaws. We often do not recognise our own weaknesses, and that the emotion that grips our minds is fear. This emotion hinders our perception of ourselves and destroys our inner peace. Incorporating self-portraits into my body of work confronted my own insecurity, exposing perceived flaws and imperfections in my appearance. By using chiaroscuro – contrasting tones of light and dark with the black background – my intent is to create a confronting space of vulnerability and sensitivity to fear, imperfection and anxiety for subjective interpretation.

After seeing the effects that the ‘Black Summer’ bushfires of late 2019 to early 2020 had on the natural Australian landscape, I felt compelled to explore this event. Through an abstracted style, placing particular attention on the blackened tones and scorched texture of the land, my intent was to evoke a mood of reflection in the audience. I worked with charcoal on paper, using actual charcoal gathered from burnt sites to highlight the physical and conceptual materiality of the medium.

My body of work is a physical exploration of something intangible – the hidden components of identity. I used charcoal pencils on watercolour paper to have the full spectrum of dark and light to express soft and dramatic forms with strong contrasting tones as well as subtle areas of gradation. This represents the hidden truths and layers of an individual’s identity with its many shades of grey. I used the side pages of a book to create the same linear qualities evident in the masked portraits, playing with the idea that ‘you can’t read a book by its cover’.

All Australians are affected by the harsh and diverse environment and natural disasters for which Australia is famous. The severe bushfires at the start of 2020 and the following floods which ravaged the Australian landscape had an impact on everyone, even those who weren’t close to the disasters. Within my body of work, my intent was to explore the ways in which these events affected everyone. I chose to do a large scale graphite drawing to incorporate details within the work that represent the physical, mental and emotional effects of these natural disasters.

When we reach the end of our lives, what is it that we leave behind that shows we were really once here? When we are gone, were all the years poured into our education really worth it? The Silent Cry of the Educated Dead represents the endless cycle of productivity over individuality, created as a result of the institutionalised education system. Is the value of a human life the sum of their achievements, or have we missed something crucial?

My body of work is an intuitive and personal exploration of the Australian natural landscape. The complex character of this environment is represented in the layers of rich and varying shapes, tones and textures in the work. Eco-dying is used to express this foundationally, as locally-found organic material imbues the paper with a distinctive Australian colour palette and unique, natural abstractions. Stitching and drawing similarly represent the landscape’s complexity in their integration into the papers; they express the detailed, textured intricacies which supplement the larger shape and colour of our beautiful, Australian ecosystem.

I am interested in drawing both film noir gangster films and birds, so my body of work combines these interests. I have inserted birds into various film noir scenes, dressed as characters from those scenes. I have used different lighting settings in the scenes, with environments ranging from well-lit to almost completely dark. In this work I focused on improving my tonal drawing skills. Over the course of creating my work, my skills and knowledge around effectively creating tonal drawings progressed much further than I expected.

As human beings we learn that suffering is inevitable. We are slaves to our own desires, perceptions and thoughts, bound by the transience of mortality. Each figure represented in my body of work is incognito, with the intent of creating an unsettling sense of ambiguity, prompting the audience's interpretation through personal experiences of restriction and/or suffering. Surreal objects are presented suspended in the air, appearing at once hopeful and vaguely ominous. While there may be freedom in humanity we are ultimately imprisoned by the foreboding force of our passing from this Earth... from the light into the shadows.

PHILTATOS: The most beloved by far explores a historical account of cautionary love and loss, a tale of two heroes – Achilles and Patroclus. My body of work references frescos of Ancient Greece with neo-classical symbolism and a colour palette of earthy golden hues. Reminiscent of animated film stills, the highly emotive imagery represents an intense human connection that is still criticised by sectors of society in our modern world.

In my body of work, my intent was to explore my bittersweet childhood and identity, in particular my relationship with my family and home country. The porcelain represents my heritage and connection with Shanghai, which I consider ‘home’. The distorted shapes of the ceramics simultaneously represent my struggle growing up in a one-parent household and my disconnection from my father and his birthplace, Taiwan. The ceramic plates integrate the Japanese repair technique of kintsugi, representing the development of my own character. All of these influences have been extremely significant in my life, and have contributed to who I am today.

In my body of work I explored the internalised emotions associated with bereavement. My innate and deep desire to come to terms with the death of my father (in 2008 when I was 5 years old) inspired my investigation of this concept. Each teapot, through form, surface texture, colour and relative scale, represents a single or a combination of emotions and feelings experienced in grieving, such as anguish, devastation, frustration, guilt, loss of innocence, collision between parental nurturing and the brutal reality of death.

To many, the space of a home provides comfort and belonging – a sanctuary within the currents of our everyday life. So where do we seek refuge when our home is uncertain? My body of work represents the ephemeral sense of ‘home’ experienced by those residing on the streets. Employing the fragile canvas of cardboard boxes, my work challenges the concept of an abode of safety which we as fortunate audiences are accustomed to. My intent is to evoke a renewed appreciation for the walls that innately protect and reassure us.

The Shed represents the essence of mateship, shared purpose and contribution to the community in the lives of five men in their later years. Painted realistically to fully express their authenticity, my body of work is mounted using the very materials used by these men. Within the men’s shed they find belonging, friendship and an outlet for creativity with a practical purpose. Separate individuals, drawn together through their common goals and passion for working with wood, they skilfully shape this material and in turn shape their own wellbeing.

Taking a reductionist approach, my body of work, Distillations of Memory and Place, is a series of abstract landscapes representing the essential elements of line, colour, form and texture of the natural environment. I was inspired by the coastal environment that surrounds me. My intent was to express the organic lines and textures that occur naturally by identifying the crucial elements of the environment. In developing my work I realised that perhaps they are not abstract landscapes at all, as they represent the landscape as it truly is, just distilled.

Amar Kotha honours women who live at the edge of society and continue the fight for dignity and respect, yet are rarely ever placed within the world’s limelight. Society has failed to recognise the bravery and strength that women in the South Asian region maintain, despite the adversity they face. My body of work pays tribute to the mothers, sisters and daughters who continue to endure the many prescribed roles within their society, with the intent of defying the limited image of fragility that surrounds their femininity. Painting with oils represents the powerful yet nurturing presence that women have.

My body of work explores how even fragmentary memories can be valuable for shaping identity. The work represents the urban scenery of Beijing and my internalised perception of the city and its people. The tall wooden blocks represent skyscrapers on which I have superimposed, in contrast with their sharp rectilinear geometric outlines, images that represent my personal memories of the past, expressing my deep connection to place despite its change. The wooden blocks are also a reference to toy blocks for toddlers and past memories – which may be foreign and alienating for postmodern individuals occupied with personal concerns.

My body of work, Gugaa (Goanna), is a large work using traditional Aboriginal storytelling and Indigenous patterning. My family background is from western NSW so this work expresses ideas and concepts that link to the Dreamtime and connect to my cultural identity. For this work I used traditional techniques and colours of the earth and sky including black, white, grey, yellow and red. The goanna is a sacred Wiradjuri totem and is a direct link to my attachment to Country.

A billabong is a stationary body of backwater, frequently the heart and soul of nature for the surrounding area, enabling new life to start and old life to be sustained. It is part of the regenerative cycle where water is the epicentre of life. My body of work explores the clash of regenerative and self-destructive forces in Australian nature. Australian habitats are constantly alternating between destructive and regenerative cycles – one cannot function without the other, just like beginning cannot exist without end, light without dark and life without death. Prosperity and life flourish through a thick layer of ash.

Scent is the most complex, powerful and precise sense we have, always attached to emotion. One whiff of my mother's perfume brings dormant memories back to me. My body of work uses still life bottles of perfume to represent the intricate identity and nature of the intimacy I have with those closest to me. As the audience engages with my work, smelling the perfume strips, they are offered an intimate insight into my relationships while triggering their own associations and memories. The work also references COVID-19, an early symptom of which is loss of smell, depriving us of intimacy.

My body of work explores the complexities of identity which extend beyond a physical image to ask whether we can truly know others. Inspired by classical works of old masters, I united traditional realism and abstract oil painting techniques. My intent is to expose how individuals can manipulate how they present themselves to others. In expressing our innermost thoughts, opinions, needs and desires we can break the facade we hide behind which distorts how we are perceived. My work questions what we really know about others, and expresses the depth of a person behind what you see ‘at face value’.

My body of work explores my studio and artmaking processes. I focused on portraiture as a means of investigating the soul's, or the artist's, intimate relationship with the canvas, as well as referencing Renaissance artists such as Goya and Caravaggio whose influence and use of chiaroscuro greatly inspired me and my practice. Using mirrors and lighting to add greater depth and perspective, I invite the audience to place themselves in the studio, and to appreciate and explore the setting beyond what is seen on the canvas.

The issues and ideas I explored in my body of work were inspired by the video game Journey. This is the classic hero’s journey that is found throughout our culture. My intent was to represent a 2D fantasy world in 3D form. Fantasy and science fiction themes in mediums such as video games, books and movies have always fascinated me. I am currently developing a video game so this informed my practice in the handbuilding of City of Clay. My intent is to give the audience a unique experience as if they were a part of this virtual world.

Memories, big or small, are kept and stored in the heart of our minds and can remain with us for eternity. My body of work was inspired by the memories I’ve created with my grandma, who has cared for me from a very early age. I associate many of my memories of my time with her with objects from her home. They may look ordinary to a stranger’s eye, but they hold a very personal meaning for me.

My body of work expresses a personal disillusionment with conservative Chinese values that are, in my own experience, too polarised to reconcile with my experience as a second-generation immigrant. I have explored the resultant profound anxiety and self-hatred through the appropriation of religious imagery, using the division between ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’, and the image of Confucius, whose teachings are engraved on the consciousness of every East-Asian person. The work represents how the traditional values that emphasise societal conformity and filial piety, resulting in the unambiguous distinction between ‘moral’ and ‘immoral’, become a condemnation of individual expression.

In my body of work, Proof of life, I explored the effect of the repetitive nature of everyday activities on the human experience. The work was influenced by the time spent in isolation during COVID-19, when we carried out the same activities every day. Each piece represents two sides of the same activity: the left side is before it has happened, and the right side is the aftermath. This work was shot on medium format film on my Mamiya rz67 in my dad’s house. I chose film because it produces better quality images, and to create a timeless feel.

My body of work is a series of photographs studying the metaphysical. This branch of philosophy explores the fundamental nature of our reality as humans, especially the relationships between mind and matter, and potentiality and actuality. I took inspiration from dreams as they are examples of our minds exploring potentiality and ignoring actuality, allowing us to briefly experience a world of transcendency and imagination. To create this work I took photographs of my classmates through various water-based filters to distort their images, much like what happens in a dream, therefore exploring the metaphysical.

We can see the significance of life and the experiences we encounter through the land we stand on. Terra Firma uses various perspectives to explore the reality of the barren, rural landscape. In the triptych copper plate intaglio etchings I allude to hardships which we have experienced collectively through fires, droughts and floods. I represent the strength within the environment, and the need to be resilient, through abandoned homesteads and desolate, vast landscapes. Contemporary photographic slides represent travel through the landscape as if through an eagle’s eye, providing a visual lens for the audience as they travel across ‘terra firma’.

The concept for my body of work was to explore how individuals live within a family. Using the framing of a triptych I represent separate personalities coexisting as a collective. I have integrated my personal understanding of Australian households and the roles that accentuate the dissonance between each character’s personality. The representation of my family incorporates elements of Christian iconography, using the symbolism of the power of ‘three’ to express a collective identity through individuality. I used printmaking to explore the negative and positive space within a composition and to tell a story which is unique yet familiar.

Memories give our lives meaning, depth and significance, which in turn elicit emotions and ground us in reality. Growing up in a world of turmoil and an overdependence on technology means real unedited and unfiltered memories provide constancy in our lives, a reality check of where we’ve come from, who we are now, and where we’re going. My body of work is a contemporary exploration of an unchanging landscape using various printmaking techniques to give rise to multiple textural interpretations and perspectives. It represents the timelessness of memories and the importance they have in shaping our lives.

The human species considers itself the dominant species, superior in every way, the apex predator. As humans we can critically think, analyse, act accordingly, construct languages, tools, cities and more. However, some still seek to further improve the human species through the manipulation of our DNA. They attempt to forcefully cut, paste and rearrange our incredibly complex structures. Messing with six million years of evolution surely doesn’t come without devastating complications, horrific failures and hideous experimentation. It’s not natural. Why mess with perfection? My body of work explores, through exaggeration, the confronting nightmarish failures and consequences of severe gene alteration.

My intent in my body of work was to explore how plant-like structures can be manipulated to shape and bend their directional growth. Using the malleable properties of wax I melted and shaped ‘branches’ supported with wire bones to build abstract structures that defy nature’s normal patterns, then incorporated elements of wire and bindings to restrict and encourage altered growth. The direction that each branch takes is affected by these constraints just as experiences alter one’s path in life.

I am drawn to the genre of still life by its subjectivity, forcing viewers to impose their perspective on the work. Wood carving, like a still life, is static, and creates a ‘snapshot’ of a time so we never forget. It is unique in that the artist is taking away, not adding on. My body of work represents my personal Year Twelve experience. Spending hours at the workbench, I began to notice the connection between time falling away and the shavings of jelutong collecting beneath my feet, making me acutely conscious of my position in and the passage of time.

I have explored an expressionist form of portraiture in a non-conventional medium to represent how the influence of the subconscious governs our individual perspectives. For my body of work I followed impulse and instinct, rather than predetermined design. Doing this allowed me to create characters whose features, expressions and personalities were determined by my own subconscious desires. For each viewer, each face will hold a different meaning, disposition and temperament. My intent was to demonstrate and critique the power of our own subconscious and pre-existing dispositions, beliefs and values in creating bias when confronted with ‘the new’ and ‘the different’.

On the cusp of the scientific discoveries of the 18th century, cabinets of curiosities were a precursor to what we now think of as modern museums. They were personal collections of exotic objects (botany, antiquities, astronomy etc), gathered from around the globe that told a story about the world and its history. Grounded in my love for order and categorising, my body of work is a stand-alone interactive sculpture that invites the audience to explore the almost forgotten art of collecting and presenting objects. While it references the scientific method, it also tells a story through themes that resonate personally.

The concept for my body of work stemmed from the Australian bushfires and their effect on nature. I find interest in the natural world and how industrialised societies destroy their environment. My work represents the effect human structures have on their environment, where the natural surroundings are pillaged by the development of industrial and domestic architecture. The ceramic pots create the organic shapes and textures of the natural environment while the wood, rope and metal components represent industrial structures. My work comments on the effect of modern society’s inventions and how they mould and reshape the earth.

My body of work is about finding my cultural identity. Travelling to central Australia was a major inspiration for my work and the elements embedded in it. Aunties and uncles, especially teacher Maree Warford, introduced me to this medium and it quickly became a focus for my cultural identity. This encouraged me to venture deeper into the various forms of Indigenous art.

My aim with Simultaneity is to leave you with more questions than answers. The truth is, we know nothing about anything as our everything could be nothing. So who are we to give answers to the questions life throws at us? Time dictates everything we do. Everything is driven by time, yet we don’t even know what time is. As Aristotle said, ‘Time is the most unknown of all unknown things.’ The more questions you ask, the more questions you will find, and the fewer answers you will have. Good luck finding your way out of this rabbit hole.

My body of work represents gluttony in contemporary culture. I used stop motion, taking one photo every 6 seconds, and added over 130 individual sound effects and foley sounds. I was influenced by the vanitas style in traditional paintings and contemporary photography as well as a genre of online videos called Mukbang (Korean for ‘eating show’), where people consume massive amounts of food for viewers to watch. My intent is for my work to be alluring yet disturbing; for the viewer to be confronted by the menu, but also relate to it, to see my opinion on greed and vanity.

The Final Act explores the life cycle through ballet: life as a continuous dance. Ballet shoes and ribbon reference delicacy and femininity and the ephemeral nature of humanity, while jewels represent the ever-lasting legacy each individual leaves to the world and future generations. I express continuity between the past and the present by contrasting the use of biro, a contemporary medium, with the traditional hand embroideries, and through the black and white colour palette to represent reminiscence and fading memories. My intent is to suggest that everyone we meet has lived a life we know nothing about.

My body of work is a look into architectural interiors, providing a perspective on reality and abstraction through materials, colour, depth and texture.

Through the microcosm of each ceramic sculpture, my body of work represents our fragile and diminishing sense of connection within the contemporary world, where society’s stereotypes provide unrealistic representations of individuals. Simultaneously, by focusing on women, it explores the perception of women within art and society. Using visually exaggerated elements I examine how individuals are viewed, constantly subjected to discrimination based on size, weight and appearance. Experimenting with the impact of perspective, my intent is to emphasise the importance of self-acceptance by provoking reflection on how changing our point of view affects authentic experience.

My body of work uses the Great Barrier Reef to reference the crisis of climate change and how it is affecting the whole world. The three white coral porcelain hearts and three white porcelain organic forms represent the human connection to the earth and how we are dying with the coral. The felt ‘cushion’ is inspired by the beautiful colours evident in a healthy coral reef and the three mixed media works express the colours of the coral reef and textures seen at a microscopic level. My intent is for the viewer to ponder their own role in climate change.