Foreword
Welcome from the Art Team
It is with great excitement that we welcome you to the opening of our International Baccalaureate, Visual Arts exhibition for the class of 2023. I am positive that you will both enjoy and be challenged when viewing the art, fragments of which can be found recorded in this accompanying book. I would also thoroughly recommend that you read carefully our young artists' curatorial rationale and supporting statements, these will give you an insight into the depth of thought our students have considered in making and presenting their pieces.
In this exhibition, our students have been inspired by, made connections with and responded to a rich and varied plethora of cultural perspectives. They have considered aesthetic, social and historical contexts as well as exploring and utilising materials and processes in the realisation of their work. All of our students have produced a coherent body of work that effectively
communicates a strong and personalised thematic, or stylistic link, using artistic devices such as symbolism, colour theory and expressive use of media to convey their thoughts, experiences and ideas. We are incredibly proud of their achievements.
Viewing this exhibition has reminded me of how time can fly by so quickly! It feels as though only yesterday we were beginning our creative journey together at Aiglon. A journey that has brought into focus many fond memories, including exciting visits to international art fairs, welcoming visiting artists, universities and Aiglon alumni, who also work within the creative industries. We have enjoyed weekend workshops, controlled assessments, hitting and sometimes missing deadlines, the late nights and early starts. Our students have faced great challenges yet have had the grit and determination to overcome them, triumphantly. We have truly been blessed to have had such a wonderful group of talented, passionate and enthusiastic artists.
steps of their lives. Some are continuing their education within the creative arts at the very best universities in subjects such as fashion, architecture and fine art, while others are following different pathways and pursuing their dreams. However, we hope that our students will always remember their time studying the visual arts with us at Aiglon and cherish the experiences and skills developed over their time here. Our graduand’s are truly a magnificent group, and Rosie, Mervyn and I would like to wish them all the very best for their futures. Good luck, Class of 2023!
Lyndon Evans Head of Visual ArtsYet our students are now almost ready to move on with the next
Isabel Evans
Clairmont
To put it concisely, the overarching theme of my exhibition is a visual exploration of the ‘Human Psyche’, wherein I essentially wanted to focus on the darker elements of the human condition; how our fears and psychology can be visually manifested, and how our perception of reality may become distorted as a result.
My initial starting point was with a focus on phobias, wherein I created a series of three coloured pencil drawings, with a predominant focus on claustrophobia but also a look at derealisation- that is, the feeling of alienation from yourself and your surroundings. My intention with these pieces was realism- I chose to abstain from abstraction as I wanted to confront the viewer with the full extent of the image, particularly the more gruesome aspects such as the flesh of the octopus and the twisting of the meat. In doing so, I hope to evoke a similar
sensation to that which is experienced when one is faced with a phobia of their own the hopelessness of inescapability combined with gruesome fascination. Thus, my original photography outcomes were crucial to having invasive compositions, meaning that within my art making process I had a focus on macrophotography and creating interesting compositions which I could then attempt to exactly replicate by hand.
grotesque imagery. Thus, I chose to contrast the warm hues with cool, necrotic shades of green and blue to reflect inhumanity and to convey a slower, more imminent sense of fear as a contrast to the ephemerality of human life.
I was particularly influenced by artist Wanjim Gim’s wide palette of shades when depicting human skin and the lifelike quality which it gives to his work. I wanted to include a certain vascularity in my figures, as a connotation of vulnerability and human mortality, meaning I placed a heavy focus on implementing shades of reds and pinks. Further, the common theme of red throughout my exhibition is meant to symbolise the morbidity which I was interested in, during my exploration of phobias; in particular, imagery of blood and blistering skin. After initially creating ‘My life in your hands’, I felt as though I could take my exploration of colour further as a means of magnifying the
Sofi Fateh Le Cerf
The underlying theme that pervades throughout my body of work can perhaps be best encapsulated by a phrase my mother imparted to me: 'youth is wasted on the young'. Since hearing this idiom, I have attempted to explore its meaning throughout my artistic process. From the offset, I aimed for my pieces to capture the multifaceted stages of life, ranging from childhood to adulthood, and showcase pivotal coming-of-age moments. Thus, when viewed as a collective, my works would epitomise a ‘journey’ through life. My body of work includes a diverse range of mediums; from: oil paint to acrylics, textiles to pencil drawings, reduction-printing to linoleum-printing, the scope of my materials reflects the exploratory nature of this ‘journey’.
My earliest works depict physical youth, childhood-nostalgia, and (most prominently), innocence. By endorsing the critical thinking skills I developed
in my psychology IB course, I examined the nuances and complexities of "growing up" through the lens of Psychoanalysis and more contemporary theories. For instance, my latest oil painting, “Freudian Children” reflects the milestone at which infants’ humanity and emotional perception begin to evolve.
large and imposing scale creates a striking and overpowering effect.
All of my pieces are seamlessly connected, not only by their thought-provoking examination of the human condition, but also by their subjects: they each feature a human. The slowdrying time and blendable quality of oil paints enables me to realistically capture the subtle nuances of skin tones and produce near-naturalistic human depictions of human faces. My body of work may also be connected by the frequent inclusion of a vibrant, saturated colour palette, reminiscent of a child’s playroom. The exception to this is my graphite pencil piece, entitled “Birth”, which challenges the traditional view that birth is solely a physical occurrence by showcasing a mature woman undergoing a spiritual rebirth. Despite its absence of eyecatching colour, this piece is conspicuous in my body of work; its
Through my process, I have come to understand “youth” is not just a stage of life, but a state of mind - it is a time of being open to learning, self-discovery, and growth. I believe that anyone, regardless of age, can access this mindset by engaging in selfreflection and a constant quest for self-improvement. I sincerely hope that my exhibition will successfully inspire viewers to embrace their own youthful spirit. It is never too late to live life like the young.
Polina Gluzman Le Trient
My body of works follow a theme of ‘Mythology’, which functions as a gateway to exploration of identity, culture and spirituality. In my art pieces, I used a variety of materials and media to express the necessary aspects of identitymainly, pencil drawing. Pencil drawing is a very adaptable medium, which expressively conveys atmosphere and mood through tonal variation and technique.
To achieve a link to culture and identity in my work, I attached my art to different myths and narratives - through each display of ‘culture’ I communicated a theme that could be recognized for each person no matter the time in history: nearly all my works have a sense of femininity, presented in a character or shape. This relates directly to my personal experience as a woman and reflects on the societal relationship with feminine aspects. Above
this, however, I looked at overall human form and being - how characterisation of my characters reflects bodies, movement and interaction. Inspired by Paul P. I explored human shape and appearance via different lighting, pose and setting - I represented his atmospheric and ‘exposed’ art of the body; my artworks similarly explored naked and clothed skin, tone and ‘queer’ or anomalous appearances. I found it interesting how shapes can be presented with distortion or warping and the effect this achieves: for example, the human body and face which can be shown with unnatural angles and communicative features, such as line - crossing out the shape, lining it up, or restricting it. Through this I wanted to open a line of communication with their viewer so that their interpretations can be directed and influenced with my intended structure.
to by others, their impression and prejudice. As a woman, I found it incredibly important to communicate this part of my own identity - the individual and social experience of womanhood, which I aimed to illustrate through different narratives: firstly, female figures in literature and religion, representing ideals and faults. A human will directly relate to ‘main’ cultural idols and characters, which represent their identity in a definitive formtherefore, I was interested in exploring how popular roles are seen in narrative (myths) and reacted to. As well as this, I linked my work to symbolism, inspired largely by Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo used animals as a symbol of spiritual and personal identity, painting herself with different species to communicate a large array of emotions and atmospheres.
Expanding on the aspects of femininity and humanity in my art, I wanted to delve into both personal experience - how you recognize and respond to yourself, your ‘ego’ and selfidentification; and perception - how you are seen and responded
Sophie Malka Le Cerf
Drug addiction is a serious topic as it harms people’s day-to-day lives and those around them. Especially with teenagers as it can affect their mental health and physical health at such a young age. Unfortunately, It is also easily accessible to those in high school or college through the use of Snapchat and Instagram. Therefore, I wanted to spread awareness of this issue and express the harms of drugs through my art.
The three main media I used were clay, acrylic paint, and photography. I felt as though these three mediums would assist me best in completing my goal of depicting drug addictions. I took a lot of influence on events and experiences from my life as I’ve seen people go through drug addiction and withdrawal several times. I was heavily inspired by Yayoi Kasuma as I admired the use of
vibrant colors and showing her meaningful messages through bizarre shapes and objects.
I’ve created many pieces, but my favourite was the first piece that I made which was a clay sculpture of a mushroom with a bunch of faces and different facial expressions. The mushroom was a representation of a drug such as hallucinogens and the facial expressions depict the feelings and emotions that one goes through while on this “trip.” It shows that there are happy times, however, it never lasts and eventually becomes this nightmare. I included very vibrant colours to create this psychedelic feeling as I want the audience to feel as though they are a part of this “drug trip.”
something that I want to prevent as I’ve seen these struggles first-hand. Unfortunately, drug addiction is something people tend to fall into as a result of poor mental health. I desire for people to know that there are other healthy alternatives of “feeling happier” instead of risking their lives for a short period of pleasure.
I want my exhibition to inspire others to not take the risk of drug usage. It can ruin one’s mental health as it can change their personality and lead to losing relationships with friends and family. Physically, it can change one’s appearance, creating things such as facial deformities and brain damage. This is
My body of work follows the theme of ‘insecurities’ which I have decided to explore through physical insecurities, mental insecurities and temptations that have impacted this generation in the moment in time that an individual passes from childhood to adulthood. Much of my inspiration has derived from interviews with close friends.
I decided to explore my theme within my strongest media, which is photography and with a particular focus on creating mixed media photograms. I chose to add onto some of the photography pieces such as colourful paints to still use it as a representation of childhood but I used a heat gun to represent consumption, as this represents how these trends representing the ‘perfect’ standard consume you. The use of this was extremely beneficial as it allowed me to portray children, or teenagers, acting like adults in many
different ways, from plastic surgery, to tobacco and alcohol use and gambling. I also used acrylic paint colourful backgrounds of certain pieces such as ‘Life Gamble’ and ‘Reflections’. This allowed me to portray the change from childhood to adulthood in a realistic painting style. While putting my exhibition together I decided to experiment with different sources of media such as sculpture and linocut printing which were not my strongest suit but I thought they were incredibly attractive and useful to portray my theme. The mix of this both allowed me to project a message on the sculpture of a body with the impression of words printed onto it.
fitting into certain groups of people. These are things that are commonly seen in our society and I wanted the audience to feel connected to it from personal experiences.
This is because this generation spends their time seeing the ‘perfect’ standards created by different sources of social media, creating a sense of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment rather than advancing, showing reality and making it beneficial to the audience. Conversely to the mental insecurities or temptations which refer to peer pressure, peer pressure to do something an individual is not comfortable with and the pure intention of
Mitsuki Yanase Exeter
I believe that as individuals born into this world, we collectively face an inevitable universal struggle and a constant battle for self-acceptance. Whether that be attempting to fill in a gap between our own expectations and realities, or coming to terms with our pasts, we are destined to overcome various hurdles during our time of existence.
All of my pieces are a self-portrait of some kind; either abstract or literal, all of my works are essentially about how I felt at distinct points of my life — or more precisely, the unique stages I encountered during my pursuit for selfacceptance.
The first stage of my personal journey symbolizes the blend of confusion and alienation I experienced; I often felt disconnected from the real world, which
led to a load of escapism. Hence, the pieces which focus on this specific stage of acceptance involve cold-toned swirls expressed through oil paint, symbolizing the psychological turmoil. Enclosed spaces are also exhibited in various forms within these pieces in an attempt to capture the trapped feeling of battling an internal struggle.
magenta and pink - my favorite colour as a child - are peppered through these pieces as well, to reinforce the theme of healing an inner child, whilst adding a touch of femininity which was a major aspect of my growth as well.
Although more apparent in some of the pieces, the theme of nostalgia and vulnerability exists within each and every piece. Rabbits are a common symbol which reoccurs throughout my entire exhibition as a manifestation of my love for my childhood, since my father often bought me stuffed rabbits growing up. The affection I received as a child has guided me through hard times, and the rabbits appear within my compositions as a fraction of peace which I always carried with me regardless of the difficulties posed. The muted color palette, accompanied by the soft touch of the oil paint aims to emphasize a sense of comfortability, which although at first seems antithetical to some of the violent imagery, is necessary in expressing vulnerability. Shades of
Although my artworks are based on an incredibly personal experience, I am curious to see how the audience reacts to my exhibition. Living through adolescence is a struggle for many, but also is simultaneously one of the most beautiful experiences in life.
