IB Art Exhibition 2020 - 2021
IB Art Exhibition 2020 - 2021
Contents 5 6 10 14 18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 4
Foreword Christopher Brennikmeijer Cristobal Martinez Torres Daria Ezhkova Eesha Chordia Liudmila Serova Mar Huguet Maria Fontes Arraes Pier Boakya Sinead Keri Siyu (Rita) Chen Yasmine Meijer Afterword
IB ART EXHIBITION | 2020 - 2021
Foreword
Welcome from the Head of School I am delighted to present a summary of the Aiglon IB Visual Arts catalogue for the 2020-2021 academic year. This book is a new initiative that details an outstanding and diverse collection of artistic works from our highly talented students in Year 13.
I am encouraged to see Aiglonians who continue to pursue a career in the arts sector. Likewise, creative skills in all domains are increasingly significant in our world today. Prospective employers more frequently select candidates who can display visual flair and creative thinking. Our art programme encourages both these competitive skills and a genuine love for creative expression. Art is a crucial part of what it means for us at Aiglon to embrace the balanced development of mind, body and spirit.
It gives me great pleasure that art continues to be a popular academic subject of study at Aiglon. While enjoyable, art lessons at the IB level are also challenging. Students engage in high-level thinking that demands a creative, intellectual, emotional and personal commitment. We highlight their dedication in this publication. Our students both meet these challenges and produce some remarkable work in the process.
Congratulations to all of our IB artists on the remarkable work they have produced, and my sincere thanks go to Mr Evans, Ms Curtis and Mr Earl for their time, support, encouragement and inspiration. Nicola Sparrow Head of School 5
Christopher Brennikmeijer St Louis
My exhibition follows the theme of “who” and “how”. Whom I have become and How I became this person. Describing which specific experiences and memories altered the path which I travel. Which is why I have named my exhibition, ‘Untitled Choices’. I believe it accurately presents the impact of choices, even at such a young age. I came to ‘Untitled’ because when I thought back to impactful memories and experiences, they began at a much younger age than I had initially thought. Most of these early decisions were not taken by me but in my interest. My exhibition started through the exploration of significant moments in my life. I came to find these moments by thinking of my personal qualities. What came to mind first was ‘responsibility’. Responsibility was taught to me at an early age, through my development in the equestrian sport. 6
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My second significant moment came to me through the qualities of acceptance and understanding. My mother is the origin of who I am today; she taught me everything about being a good person who contributes positively to society.
wanted people to enter my exhibition as if they entered my mind. Firstly, seeing my face sculpted in such a way that everyone can bring their eyes to see through mine, to truly visualize the importance of these memories for me. The face has not been altered, painted or glazed because I want this to represent the honesty of my perspective, that they reveal the truth. The most important piece is the second depiction of my face. In the centre of my exhibition. Sprouting a tree from my temple, representing the growth of my thoughts, knowledge, and in this case my emotions. The branches consume and connect my artworks taking you to each individual piece which has its own story and contribution; to that which makes up Christopher Brenninkmeijer. Representing these pieces as memories and experiences taken from mind and soul. Once this is understood I have no further instructions for you. All that I ask is that you take me in, not through judgment but through understanding. Do not see what I tell you too but listen to what the pieces say to you. Allow them to unlock memories of your growth and bring back images of happiness from your past.
My third collection of moments that altered my life’s course was my introduction to classic cars by my father. The beauty, elegance and joy of bringing something back to its original state. One of the most important lessons I learned was the importance of self-worth. “Neither I nor your mother, nor anyone else can determine your worth, that is up to you”, is an expression my father often repeated. My exhibition follows a different direction to many others as I wanted a confined area within which to expose myself. Not literally, but emotionally. It is a more comforting space, making it easier to share with others, as I am a quiet and careful person when it comes to sharing emotions and personal details. It follows the design of a common cubicle. Creating this feeling of safety. Which is exactly what my memories create for me. I 7
Cristobal Martinez Torres St Louis
My body of work follows the theme of “emotions and identity”, it focuses on the energy of my inner self, my passion, my ideas, what keeps my heart beating. Most of my works are related to me, whether it's a self-portrait or an expressive painting. It is always something that I can relate to myself. My initial concept was to display a head sculpture in the centre to introduce my style. Nevertheless, while I was developing a new sculptural piece, a heart, I realized that it did not make sense having a clay head as the centre of the display, there was a lot more to be shown about my identity. As I was painting an image of a heart on canvas I came to realise that a heart should be the centre of my piece. I questioned myself, what powers me? What keeps me going every day? What gives me life? And it made immediate sense, my heart. I took a step up in my ability and decided to make a heart out of paper mache 10
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and tape, the process was not easy since I tried to do it as realistic as possible. The heart is the piece that powers life, energy, and defies my identity. Through the arteries of the heart you see a sequence of different colours flowing through plastic tubes that connects to a different piece. Each colour that flows through the tubes represents an emotion, red is powerful, passion, heat, anger, sexuality, love; whilst yellow represents joy, energy, happiness, friendship. The purpose of this is to make viewers develop a sense of consciousness and appreciation in themselves the thing is we unconsciously live life without knowing we have a heart, we fail to realise that our heart exists and that it powers the human body, when it gets in the viewers mind they are going look at my exhibition with their heart instead of their mind, it’s going to be emotional!
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Daria Ezhkova Le Cerf
In this project, I have explored the theme of the cycle of life and the connection between humans and nature. By spending the majority of my life living by and immersed in beautiful natural surroundings, I have been lucky enough to be able to observe the shapes, textures and colours of nature. These experiences have inspired me to use the rich and bright pigments found in acrylic paint. Exploring this connection helped me discover my inner self and evaluate the lifestyle I have. In addition to these experiences, I have become aware of global environmental issues such as the destruction of nature, deforestation, the extinction of whole species of animal, which has become a global problem. Therefore, through my art, I want to persuade people to respect our planet more and evaluate their decisions.
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The theme of the relationship between human and nature intrigued me during the Covid-19 quarantine period. The global pandemic was a sign for me that it is time for transformation. As the world slowed down, I was able to slow down and reflect on my previous decisions. This time spent alone made me realise that my personality is dependent on other people, which helped me learn how to challenge my personal emotions about the world and express it through art. The main purpose of the pieces is to show the importance of respect towards nature, as if humanity respects the earth, the earth will nourish us back. These two worlds have to come to an equilibrium in order to sustain. I have examined the theme of communication between nature and humans, since I believe that people are connected to the surrounding in a very strong way. The subject of different biomes and natural landscapes creates the connection between each piece and persuades the viewer to travel throughout the paintings as if travelling throughout themselves. 15
The choice of media allowed me to experiment with the large variety of tones, tints, shades and colour hues to create interesting combinations and patterns. By studying the work of Hernan Bas, I have developed the technique of layering paint, this is especially apparent in my large scale composition “Blooming”, where I have used this layering of colour in order to create more depth. I have tried to explore this technique throughout the exhibition pieces as it has allowed me greater freedom and creative licence in developing my often unplanned compositions. As a repetitive motif, I have used the neon paint, making the atmosphere of the artworks more mysterious and magical, since people have a lot to explore in nature, making it a secret world for us.
Eesha Chordia Le Cerf
My body of work has moved through several different ideas, but they all relate to the theme of womanhood. I have tried to explore this theme in a few different ways – by looking at culture, a poem about equality written in Hindi framed across my self portrait, by looking at family and fashion, as well as exploring different cultures and women of all ages. My works have incorporated sculptural and textural elements and I’ve used a number of processes to adapt the medium to my purpose, such as the use of traditional Indian fabrics which enable me to embrace my cultural heritage. I began IB Visual Art as a painter, and this has been the basis for the majority of my work. My works have a bright and playful palette. I use photographic references and usually have a photo shoot before starting a piece so I have the image to base the paintings on. 18
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Most of my pieces revolve around the powerful women in my life, telling different life stories and struggles; women from different cultures and eras are represented, embracing their strengths. I was inspired by Shirin Neshat, particularly her artwork “Unveiling”. My work essentially declares the female presence in a male dominated culture. In my paintings and photographs, the female gaze becomes a powerful instrument for communication, aimed to challenge oppression while exposing stereotypical viewpoints on femininity. My work aims to reveal the masquerade or set of poses adopted by women which have for so long conformed to societal expectations. In looking at my exhibition pieces I want the viewers to follow the flow of Hindi text splattered across the walls and artworks, again portraying the stories of strong women through the lens of motherhood, equality and history. Each giving a message of women's struggles, however, displaying their inner strength.
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Liudmila Serova Exeter
In my project I am exploring the theme of women and femininity in different forms. I was inspired to choose this theme by the research I have completed for my comparative study, where I analysed three paintings of women which came from different time periods and cultures (“Shakuntala” by Raja Ravi Varma, “Jasmin in gypsy headscarf”by Albert Henry Collings and “Woman on the swing” by Alexey Chernigin). The most noticeable thing that drew my attention was the cultural differences which were portrayed through clothing in the paintings, the portrait by Henry Collins illustrates a traditional headscarf worn by gypsies which makes the woman on the painting appear very modest, in contrast with the open dress that the woman is wearing on Chernigin’s painting, which illustrates quite relaxed and a more modern approach to clothing in Russian culture.
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This made me want to further explore the concept of tradition, modesty and body image in my exhibition. The main concept that connects all the paintings of my exhibition is the size of the artworks and the skin exposure in them; starting from a small scaled photograph of a woman in a hijab and gradually exposing more and more skin in the next art pieces with the increasing size of the canvases. Furthermore, I chose very dark, monochromatic colours throughout the artworks to emphasize the lack of freedom of women which we can see in many parts of the world. In terms of media I have chosen to work in oil paints in a classical, realistic manner, due to my artistic practice being influenced by ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, as well as selected Renaissance paintings. These concepts also heavily influenced my photographic work. I deliberately chose to portray the paintings and the photographs in alternating order to allow the viewer to experience the work from different perspectives. All of the paintings in the exhibition are black and white while for photography, I have chosen to present in colour but in a very subtle colour scheme which does not stand out from the overall theme of the project. 23
Mar Huguet Exeter
Initially, I decided to explore the theme of oppression throughout my various pieces of artwork. I have always been interested in art that challenges the viewers to discover a different perspective or meaning of the work and create a sense of importance, making them aware of global issues faced by society. With that said, I wanted to ensure my audience a challenging experience when viewing my artworks. Oppression, being the unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power, is a concern that can fall into many different categories. Because it falls under many categories, my audience is able to portray the work and relate it to themselves at a deeper level. However, if my audience can not relate to the work in any shape or form, the intent is to educate them on this oppressive society we live in and perhaps persuade them into making a positive change in their communities. 26
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Throughout my artwork, this ongoing theme is displayed in numerous different styles, from paintings, to photographs or 3D works. In one way or another, I emphasised the importance of oppression, while still disguising the obvious in order to challenge the viewers. I was able to tie my pieces together into a cohesive body of work through colour and techniques. Throughout all my works, I focused on using subtle colours such as black and white, with a pop of red here and there. Black, symbolising power, anger and sadness, while white symbolises innocence and purity contradict each other, the same way oppression contradicts itself, as one society feels less important than the other. The use of red in my works represents power and courage, which connotes the idea of feeling free from oppression, or, can also be symbolised as the power a certain gender, government or class may have.
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Ultimately, I have decided to display my exhibition following the “staircase of oppression.” This conceptual model presents how oppression is constructed, in steps, from categorising people through stereotyping, following discrimination, and finally on to structural systematic oppression. I decided to stage my artwork in the form of a staircase, starting at the top by objectifying a category, to then stereotyping a belief, prejudice a value, discriminating an action, and ending with oppression, while the space below each staircase represents the space in which we can be human together. In terms of my audience, it is intended that they view this staircase as the withering effect oppression has on specific groups of people within a country or society. The simple act of stereotyping quickly descends to discrimination and oppression, creating a marginalisation that can, again, be relatable to the audience or persuade them into making a positive change in their communities.
Maria Fontes Arraes Le Cerf
I want to use my art to express forms and space. My main inspiration is scoliosis, a disease that I have suffered since I was born. Scoliosis started to bother me at a young age, but when I realized that I could use it as a way to express myself, because it is a part of me, I understood that I shouldn't be ashamed of it. Scoliosis is not something bad, but something different, this makes you unique. The different forms of my back, inspired me to create artworks focused on structures, giving an illusion of strength, steadfastness and anatomy. For my exhibition, I decided to work in media such as photography, drawing, acrylic painting and sculpture. I used these different media because I wanted to explore different themes found within 30
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structures such as in the human body and also in architecture. Architecture is important to me as I see it as a way I can move forward with my life and fulfil my ambitions. I hope that these facets can successfully combine to move my artwork forward. There is a relationship between the media I use and the ideas I work with. The structure within my back, the different shapes, angles and forms found in my spine combined with architectural shapes and features. All these have inspired me to create the structures that you see in the work exhibited before you. I want the audience to experience observation by focusing on the details of the artworks and to notice little things that can make a big difference. To contribute to the viewers experience, I have created a method to display my work because I believe that how the work is arranged and presented, can have a big impact on the overall audience experience.
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My first pieces are personal artworks and photographs which have an important meaning to me because it is about my own life and experience. These initial works are rendered in a dark and muted colour pallet, reminiscent of the high contrast found in the black and white X-Rays taken of my spine, and my early negative feelings towards my body. However, as the viewer travels through the exhibition, I attempt to explore a different range of bright and vibrant colours which signify my greater confidence and acceptance towards myself. I want to portray a greater positivity in how people perceive themselves. I am very positive about my future and I want the viewer to also feel that they too can overcome difficulties and achieve their dreams.
Pier Boakya St Louis
An insight into forms of expression through an individual and his chaotic world through art. “I don't think about art when i am making this piece. I think about life”-Jean-Michel Basquiat. Every person you see today has a story to tell about what made them the person you see and art is a form that can express a thousand words. The dark entrance sets the ambiance for the general theme of light surrounded by darkness of emotions represented in colour. I express different emotions through body language and colour and leave it to the audience to judge. The most common medium used is acrylic paint as it is easy to work with and very fluid. I also use oil pastel for the fact that there are a wide range of tones. I use chalk and oil pastel for highlights in some paintings as they give off a strong colour that I feel represents brain waves running through your body and onto 34
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the wider world. Clothing is also a canvas of choice as it represents who you are as a person through patterns, colours and fit. I want the audience to connect to the experience on a higher level with the audio visual aspect guiding their experience. The main theme running throughout my exhibition is the “expression of self”. I have always taken an interest in contemporary art, I especially looked up to the artist JeanMichel Basquiat who set my artistic spirit free. My usage of bold, bright and vibrant colours is to tell a story of a person. Most of my pieces are self portraits and this is what the audience sees but the last piece shows the inner thought and outlook on the world I was born into. “Creation” tells a story of how a boy enters a world of uncertainty. A world full of moments of good and bad mixed with anger and happiness combined with temptation, and there are always two sides.
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Sinead Keri Exeter
Art is a form of expression for me. A channel by which I depict my ideas without having to worry about the opinions of others. I do it as a way to dig deeper into my own mental space and pull out untouched ideas. My body of work aims to reflect my true persona, as well as those of the people in my environment who have contributed to my upbringing and personal development. My major source of inspiration is personal subject matters which may involve cultural identity, ancestry, and even more intimate ideas such as self-love. My works are hinged on those topics, which I chose to investigate due to a few personal ordeals. In my experiences of being unequivocally and directly discriminated against, I realised the hard way that I was different from others in my environment, but as a woman of colour confronting these issues, I’ve 38
IB ART EXHIBITION | 2020 - 2021
had time to learn and grow to treasure who I truly am, as there are parts of me which are permanent and unchangeable. I therefore use these insecurities as major elements of my art, in a bid to make others love their true selves as well. I intend to use my works to reveal what I believe to be the epitome of female African beauty, and explore a range of physical features including some which might customarily be perceived as unattractive so as to defy the stereotypical norms of female beauty and subvert societal standards to make my viewers more open-minded and regard my works in a different light from what they might be accustomed to.
typical village yard to give the viewers a feel of my personal environment back home. I also painted an oil portrait of my mother with a textured background in a way that portrays her as divine and more superior being with the intention to emphasize her importance to me and give a visual representation of her role in my life. My exhibition’s message of beauty, identity and self love will be progressively tied together through each work that symbolises the African rites of passage which are birth, adulthood, marriage, eldership and ancestorship. It will show the impermanence of life and the progressiveness of beauty, admiration and respect.
I explored traditional methods of creating, especially from my culture; like textiles for example, and used them to convey a message in a way that resonates with my generation and others who are like me. In one of my works, I painted over traditional Nigerian fabrics in order to explicitly reflect my nationality to my audience and to depict the pride I take in being an African woman. I plan to use these fabrics to create a live setting of a
Through my art, I aim to inspire other women and people of colour to appreciate themselves and their respective backgrounds.
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Siyu (Rita) Chen Clairmont
The focal point of my work is the voice of a woman in the context of Chinese culture. I want my audience to feel as if they can hear it as they walk through the sequence of a woman’s life. Throughout the work, they will see the evolution of a girl who matures into adulthood and hear the sound of her voice; each of the female figures communicate a story and speak in varying tones. Overall, my concept directly relates to the media I am using. I used watercolours to portray her in her youth as if to communicate that the child is capable of being transformed - the same way that watercolour can be altered with the adding or extracting of water. Acrylic, on the other hand, requires another layer of itself to be liable to change and thus, I use this medium to represent each figure from here on out. The density of the medium symbolises how it 42
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roots itself into the canvas as if to outline a foundation. The subject is now constructing the beliefs that are likely to shape her future identity. As an adolescent in the Red Ribbon Rebel, she rebels against the views she has been taught, instead looking within herself as a guide to morality. The act of opening a bottle with one’s teeth defies the conventional understanding towards women dressed up in Cheongsam, the foundation of her culture. Following the theme of the adolescent turning in towards herself, I was inspired to express this in the context of fashion conventions in our society by presenting a dauntless teen contradicting the societal constraints revolving around appearance. As the audience moves on to the Xiao Wen, I want them to see how the adolescent evolves into a woman. However, I have intentionally given her masculine features to show contrast to the stereotypical beautified appearance; it is a subversion of Chinese cultural beauty standards. 43
The final piece “Sound of Fury” is the audience’s final destination and represents the expression of the female voice: it is the process of a person screaming, and is linear to the sequence of events represented by each female figure. The child cannot speak: representing the child’s lack of autonomy and how she is susceptible to her surroundings. The adolescent learns to construct words: representing the start of consciousness and being self-aware and self-questioning. She is then an adult using her voice: representing her knowledge of culture and individualistic self which empowers her to exercise her voice. Yet the bowl is submerged in water, and this shows the excruciatingly harsh reality of how her voice was never heard.
Yasmine Meijer Le Cerf
The exotic fragrances of childhood drift into my inward eye and I instantaneously recall those flights of fantasy and carefree moments of innocence. My exhibition's aim is to represent ‘the turbulence of childhood’. All my pieces have to do with the concept of the emotions of growing up. One of my art pieces I have put in my exhibition is called ‘mini me’ the concept behind it is about how us individuals all have our own inner child within us and how we should unleash that part of ourselves to appreciate life more. There are multiple themes of childhood running throughout my exhibition but one of the main topics is the connection between childhood and adulthood. At the beginning of my exhibition I want to capture the audience's attention through showing a sculpture portraying the connection between a child and adulthood, from this starting point my goal is to lead the audience on a journey exploring the different elements and emotions that go through childhood. 46
IB ART EXHIBITION | 2020 - 2021
The exhibition starts off quite neutral and positive, and as you move on throughout the artworks, the pieces allow the audience to experience a more dark and uneasy feeling. This plays on the idea that as an adult you do not experience a fairytale or perfect life; that’s why I included the barbies, because the juxtaposition is the perfect metaphor for perfect life and a perfect person. In manipulating the barbies into an evil and gruesome state I changed the concept of the Barbie by showing a clearer reality which links to my concept of an imperfect adulthood. Growing up, the works of contemporary artists Takashi Murakami, Andy Warhol, Micheal jean-Basquiat and Mike Kelley set my artistic spirit free while I explored the theme of childhood in my works. My artwork portrays a contemporary feel with the use of bright, vibrant and bold colours. All my pieces give quite dramatic visual impact through 3D form, large scale and a tactile surface. This is to portray the feeling of being a child again because when you are a child everything seems a lot bigger than it is and as a child your sense of touch and imagination are important. 47
My works all dabble in colours and depict a complex spectrum of emotions, what resulted was the photographic series, ´Art is not an emotion´. In these close ups and portraits, the role of mesmerizing colours is shown to represent all the moods of emotions when growing up. My usage of colour insinuates their moods and how children are not fastidious. They do not view the world as black and white.
Afterword
From the Head of Visual Arts 2020-2021 has been an unparalleled year, with students facing challenges at almost every turn. Whether uncertainties caused by the pandemic, quarantine requirements, online learning, or ever-changing social restrictions, we have been through a lot. However, I have been lucky enough to witness our students' epic resilience, can-do attitude, and unwavering spirit. They have demonstrated remarkable maturity, and I am confident that they are prepared to thrive upon graduation. This academic year has also seen a change in the Visual Arts team at Aiglon. I would like to thank Ms Curtis and Mr Earl for their unwavering support and dedication to ensure a smooth transition and that our students experience a first-class education.
In this year's exhibition, you have seen a coherent body of thoughtfully curated and lovingly prepared artworks. Our Aiglonians have thrown themselves into the International Baccalaureate Visual Arts course, producing some breathtakingly beautiful pieces which reflect upon a myriad of concepts to draw comparisons and make connections to the world around us. Each student has thought deeply about how the works are displayed and how the experience may impact the viewer. I certainly hope you will have as much to contemplate as the students had in their conception and creation. The works, including a variety of two and three-dimensional media, demonstrate the students' technical competencies. I am incredibly proud that they have effectively manipulated the formal qualities in the realisation of their concepts.
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I love the confidence displayed by our students in photography, paint, ceramics and mixed media, and I know that this cohort is inspiring the next generation of artists who will come through at Aiglon. It has been a great privilege to begin my journey this year at Aiglon as Head of Visual Arts. Working alongside, advising, supporting and getting to know such talented young people has been a rewarding experience. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed the exhibition and take this new book as a memento of the magnificent achievements and progress our students have made over the past two years. Lyndon Evans Head of Visual Arts
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