IB Art Final Exhibition Guide 2019 IB Art Exhibition Guide 2019 | Page 6

Florian Barratt
My artwork often explores concepts of the digitisation
of the human thought process via the computer-aided
or digitally influenced abstraction of the human form.
The work intends to be symbolic of our melding and
assimilating with the digital reality we build around
ourselves, and of the intangible relationship between
the human psyche and technology. This is displayed
predominantly through abstraction of the human form
via digital means, or with technological influences.
These abstractions progress throughout my work,
often phasing from reality to the digital world and
back again.
Robin Brenninkmeijer
The main theme running through my works is power.
A force that has the capacity to contort, manipulate
and transform humans, I wanted to investigate how
it has adapted through history to remain present in
either a conceptual or materialistic form. Throughout
time it has ranged from being embodied by a uniform
to more recently being contained by money, and so
I took an experimental approach to see which would
raise greater attraction today. With inspiration from
war documentaries, traditional war paintings, and
my own family’s military involvement, I attempt to
portray the advantages and disadvantages of status.
I continuously refer to James Chiew’s political collages
and Devin Miles’s techniques, to create pieces that
challenge the viewers’ emotions through the use of
contrasting colours and brightness, but also brutality.
While power can represent strength, assertiveness
and determination, particularly in a military context,
the acceptance of vulnerability also falls under the
same category, and my fascination for this other
unusual interpretation resulted in the creation of a
painting capturing beauty, lightness and exposure.
The prominence of power in every piece therefore
ranges, depending on one’s personal interpretation.