OPPOSITE PAGE : FIRST PRIZE , WILL FORDHAM ‘ ROOM ’. LOWER LEFT : RICHARD LIU ‘ OLD SCOTCH SQUARE ’. RIGHT : ART ON DISPLAY . ABOVE LEFT : TOM CRONIN ‘ INDUSTRIALISATION ’. RIGHT : THEO DRYDEN ‘ AT EASE ’.
The Inside Art competition was launched in March 2020 as a result of the unique circumstances we found ourselves in during the early months of 2020 . In Term 1 , Victorian schools were closed to students for the first time since World War II , and all Scotch boys were subsequently moved to distance learning – a situation which was revisited during Term 3 .
The lockdown of the community was undeniably a unique event , and the Scotch Senior Art Department wanted to ensure students were encouraged to continue creating artworks . We wanted to provide a space for boys to share their creations with the School community , even though they were confined to home .
Boys were invited to create an artwork based on the theme ‘ Inside Art ’, which they were invited to enter online . The artworks were then displayed in the Scotch Streams student portal on the School website . More than 50 students entered artworks that showcased a high level of skill and a thoughtful response to the topic .
Deciding the winning entries proved to be a daunting task taken on by our Senior Art Department technicians – John Kuzma ,
Mary Cutinelli and Saskia Pandji Sakti . As professional artists and designers , they were well qualified to decide which artwork would be declared the best entry .
The winning artwork was created by Year 9 student , Will Fordham . Our judging panel unanimously praised Will ’ s digital artwork titled ‘ Room ’ as an excellent reflection of the state that many people found themselves in during the lockdown . It depicts a person lying in bed , mentally brightening the interior walls of an otherwise claustrophobic isolation .
A very close second place was awarded to Theodore Dryden ( Year 11 ) with his artwork titled ‘ At Ease ’, an arrestingly beautiful photographic image capturing a lone rower on the Yarra River at sunset .
The two artworks in third place were popular with at least two of the judges , and were both technically very accomplished . Thomas Cronin ’ s ( Year 11 ) beautifully composed collage ‘ Industrialisation ’, was made from classic magazine sources , and Richard Liu ’ s ( Year 11 ) ‘ Old Scotch Square ’ was created using a unique coding sequence to give the image a very contemporary aesthetic .
Highly commended awards were given to Witter Onggara ( Year 7 ), Matthew Padgham ( Year 11 ), Brandon Pai ( Year 10 ), Ryan Chen ( Year 8 ) and Nathan Munro ( Year 10 ), who all featured prominently in the judges ’ shortlists .
The competition achieved its aim of keeping the boys actively engaged in the Scotch community while at home in lockdown . It also served to showcase our young artists ’ endeavours to the Scotch community .
A virtual display was created to feature all the students ’ artworks and to announce the winners . It is accessible at : https :// www . artsteps . com / embed / 5ea8262ac1a607739e 6e59b7 / 1280 / 720 . A link to the virtual display is also accessible on the ‘ Our Community ’ page of the School website ’ s Keeping Scotch Connected portal .
YUDHA SCHOLES – HEAD OF ART
www . scotch . vic . edu . au Great Scot 23