ART & DESIGN //
ART & DESIGN
This year we had some fabulous students working at GCSE and A level , culminating in an outstanding exhibition of work at the Pocklington Arts Centre . Focus was very much on figurative outcomes fuelled by the self-portrait projects that we run in Fourth and Fifth Year .
We saw considerable development with large scale oil paintings at A level , many of which were displayed in the PAC exhibition . Mica Hancock produced large scale portraits of her peers in pixelated form , effectively rendering faces using blocks of colour to superb effect . Emily Waldron focused on the flesh – big , bold , fleshy depictions of the human body on a vast scale . Aaron Larvin was inspired by Francis Bacon , creating distorted figures writhing around the canvas , depicted in thick , impasto paint , and Kim Cundliffe produced wonderfully surreal portraits , inspired by 60 ’ s psychedelia .
Kim has been asked to complete this year ’ s portrait of the head girl and boy – which she is over the moon with , and cannot wait to get started !
A level photographers continued to develop their work into video form , producing highly professional , extremely engaging art pieces . Charlotte Groombridge developed her ideas based around entrapment into a stunning video , using ambitious props and costumes – including zorb balls that were a regular fixture of the art department for a considerable time .
Lower down in the school , lots of exciting projects have taken place , including ceramics , printmaking and a super project on pigeons where pupils studied the work of local artist Mark Hearld . GCSE pupils worked incredibly hard – highlights include Rose Newbould ’ s colourful portraits inspired by Erik Jones , Katrina Laing ’ s atmospheric self-portraits , and Julian Brittenden ’ s large scale Salgado-esque figures , full of colour and energy .
A trip to the Royal Academy Summer Show ( this year in December !) and 180 The Strand , fuelled the Sixth Form with some incredibly bold ideas . A highlight was ‘ Transfiguration ’ by Universal Everything ( shown at 180 The Strand ), a digitally created figure that morphs from one textural form to another as it stomps along – amazing !
https :// www . universaleverything . com / projects / transfiguration-2020
This year also sees the retirement of Sarah Green , head of art at the Prep School and intermittent teacher of art at the Senior School . She will be dearly missed by staff and pupils alike , for her great energy and enthusiasm for the subject .
32 THE POCKLINGTONIAN