C A N A D I A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C H O O L O F H O N G K O N G
2 0 2 0 | IB DP VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION
WELCOME TO
M E R A K I The Greeks used the word “Meraki” to describe the act of doing something with all of your soul and spirit. It is when so much passion has been put into something that the final product holds a piece of its creator. It embodies their soul. It is with this simple word “Meraki” that I proudly introduce to you the 2020 Senior Visual Arts Show. I had the honor of watching these 13 unique artists pour their souls into the creation of their bodies of work. When you open these pages you will not only see great skill, beautiful aesthetics and thought provoking imagery but something much deeper and greater than this. These artists have been vulnerable enough to share deep parts of themselves in each and every piece of artwork.
As you look through these pages you will see various themes ranging from identity, feminism, memories and beyond. These themes are explored through the use of media such as clay, digital, guache, charcoal and acrylic. Most importantly, you will be taken on a journey through the souls of these 13 amazing artists. As our time together comes to an end, I want to thank each and every one of these artists for allowing me to go on this adventure with them. I am so proud of all of you and I can not wait to see where life takes you next! Wherever the path leads, you will always be true artists at heart. I am very excited to see the way you each change the world.
This is my first year working here at CDNIS and I have been amazed by the journey I observed each and every one of these artists go through this year. As we all know, this has not been the easiest year for any of us. The strength, dedication and resilience these artists have demonstrated has truly been an inspiration to me and I am so proud of them. My favorite part of being an art educator is to see the process each individual artist goes through. Being able to observe the exploration, experimentation, inquiry, research and constant reflection required to create these works has been the most exciting part of my job.
Vanessa Lucas Head of Visual Arts Department
Trophy Boy, 2020, Oil on Canvas
Disconnected, 2019, Digital Painting
Hunted, 2019, Digital Painting
Warped Perspective, 2020, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Aphrodite, 2019, Digital Painting
The Girl with the Fake Smile, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
DANA
CHAN
Mental health is an ongoing issue within our society, and all my artworks centralise around the idea of mental health. Through my artwork, I want to remove the humiliation of being vulnerable and create a more forgiving environment to express our true emotions. Growing up in Hong Kong, I noticed that mental health continues to remain taboo, making it a difficult environment for people to speak about their problems or emotional wellbeing. I have expressed my struggles with my art, by creating artworks that reflect how I felt, what I have been through and how I have grown from it.
Delusional Chaos, 2020, Fineliner on Paper
Magic Shop, 2020, Mechanical Pencil on Paper
Chrysalism, 2019, Acryllic Paint
Penrose, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
NATASCHA LIPMAN
Trip 2020, 2020, Acrylic Paint on Wood
Chrysalism, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Night Market, 2019, Paper Clay Sculpture
Regardless of your background, nostalgia is something everyone experiences. Even at 18, I panic at how quickly time progresses. The bittersweet feeling when experiencing nostalgia is what I wanted to recreate through the works in my exhibition. For me, nostalgia has a flexible connotation, being both positive and negative. Looking back at negative aspects of one’s life can help amount to an appreciation of their current lives today. It is important to remember both the good and the bad aspects of life.
Hong Kong New Era, 2019, Fineliner
Amplify, 2019, Fineliner
Trapped, 2019, Charcoal
Complicated, 2018, Watercolour and Fineliner
Life, 2019, Fineliner
LOK
TIN
LUI
I have always been interested in architecture. I am most fascinated by the shapes that form the designs of buildings. Creating artworks inspired by these shapes and structures has been one of the most enjoyable parts of my art making experience. I really enjoyed the chance I got to experiment with different media and to draw and paint buildings that I find fascinating. In my body of artwork, I try to express the emotions that I have gone through at certain times of life by showing the places that I have been to along with some of the places that I feel like reflect where I currently am. Lonely, 2020, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Coconut, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Clay
Gaze, 2020, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Outside in, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Clay Power to the person, 2019, Charcoal
Rise, 2018, Clay and Soil
Pale face that lives in the rainbow, 2020, Digital Painting
AKSHAY ATAPATTU We live our lives as strangers to the universe and strangers to ourselves. We obsess over the products of our desires and are blinded by the manifestations of our fears. My body of work explores the aspects of our human condition that has driven us further and further away from an understanding of human existence. I highlight these aspects of the human condition through the representation and manipulation of the human figure, in order to portray my insights into “mankind�.
Noise, 2018, Digital Photography
Memento Mori, 2019, Graphite on Paper
Icarus Inverse, 2019, Mixed Media
Mythos Arcana, 2019, Ink on Paper Cronus’ Bind, 2019, Digital Arts
Commodore’s Arrival, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Alaktu, 2019, Pop-up Book
JUSTIN
YU
Through my pieces, I wanted to reflect the different social and emotional problems that I have come to face throughout the past several years. This has included many personal struggles that I have faced particularly in my high school years. Due to an additional interest in mythology, I have been inspired by different mythological stories from various cultures. I used these stories to express my own personal struggles in my artwork. In the end, mythology played a large role in the expression of my own story.
The Jar, 2020, Oil Acrylic Paint on Board
Flow, 2020, Watercolour, Acrylic Paint, Copic Marker and Colour Pencils on Paper The Room, 2019, Watercolour on Paper
Stress, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
MAGGIE
MA
Most of my artworks are expressing feelings, emotions and internal struggles. Stress is gradually piling up during the intense study year and my head is full of negative emotions. As a person who likes to chew over every thought I have, creating artworks allows me to critically explore all these emotions and understand them.
Endless Escape, 2020, Watercolour on Paper
I Don’t Wanna Be Tall, 2019, Mixed Media
Permanent Fear, Permanent Paranoia, 2018, Posca Markers and Ink
Blemish Prevention, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Blemishes, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
The Swing pt.2, 2019, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Let Us Eat Cake, 2019, Digital Illustration
Do You See Him? 2019, Ink and Posca Marker on Paper
MADI
WONG
I started this collection by simply wanting to create works that expanded upon the topic of feminism. As I progressed as an artist I realised how easy it is for femist artworks to simply be written off as stereotypical and lacking depth. Wanting to stray away from this, I began to lean towards utilizing the cathartic abilities of art and delve into creating works that are more based on experience and personal observations. This enabled the works to feel more personal and genuine - a reflection upon my identity as a female rather than simply labeling it as femist art.
Growing Pains, 2019, Digital Painting
The Glass Ceiling, 2020, Mixed Media on Paper
In the Eye of the Beholder, 2019, Mixed Media on Paper
Cover Ups, 2020, Digital Painting
Fresh Virgins Only, 2019, Watercolour on Paper
Seesaw, 2019, Mixed Media Model NXIETYA, 2018, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas
NICOLE
SIN
With a focus on portraying the universal struggles that women face, I delved into an exploration of femininity in relation to my own identity. My artworks take viewers through an introspective journey on what it means to be a girl living in the modern world. I look into issues regarding the feminine ideal, ranging from beauty standards to sexual freedom. It can be said that my seventeen years of life as a female on this planet has culminated in this artistic exploration of how the various issues I have observed and experienced have impacted me.
Connection between the Disconnect, 2020, Wood and Magnet
Trapped vs Free, 2020, Wire and Sponge
JULIAN
Revolving Dreams, 2020, Mixed Media
WEI
My body of work explores the theme of memory. We all have different kinds of memories ranging from positive to negative, stressful to calm. Memories are created through everything we do and experience. I want to show how memories work within our minds. My goal is for the audience to see my work and reflect on how memories shape their daily lives. Many people try to suppress bad memories but they always come back. My exhibition takes viewers on a journey through all forms of memory.
Emerge From the Womb, 2020, Deconstructed Vintage Windbreaker
Recurrence, 2018, Digital Photography In 2049, 2019, Green and brown ink, Varnish, Acyrlic plastic sheets and Polaroids
Our System, Exposed. , 2019, Acrylic Box, Copper Wires, Century Eggs, Digital Photos on Transparent Sticker
Abysmal, 2019, Fresh flowers, Cling film, Hot glue and Acrylic box
GIGI
YA N G
I aim to capture the discoveries of my past and present emotional experiences, thus finding purpose into the aspects of my life. Experiments are essential to this exhibition, as it reflects the constant discovery and curiosity that I have with both Art and my personal life. All of these forms of art are a collection of self exploration and expression, aiming to effectively convey my most sincere emotions to the audience.
Muted Competition, Latex rubber, Air clay, Plaster sheets, 3D Printed cylinder Chess base, White Acrylic paint and Portable LED lights
Inputs/Outputs, 2019, Ink and Watercolour
Lost Ship, 2019, Gouache
Native to Australia, 2018, Gouache and Mixed Media
SARAH WILLIAMS
Aura, 2019, Gouache and Mirror
This body of work began as an exploration of identity. It started out general, and then ultimately became a journey of self-discovery. This journey lead me to a stronger sense of self. To me, art has always been an outlet that has allowed me to express my ideas and perception of the world. This is evident in my artwork, as my pieces pull from circumstances and experiences that have shaped me as an individual, and matured with me as I found my sense of artistic style.
Uncaged, 2019, Metal Wiring
Little Boxes, 2019, Marker and Fineliner on Paper
Cat’s Cradle, 2019, Colour Pencil on Paper
JAMIE
Sleepwalking, 2020, Watercolour on Paper
Sink or Swim, 2018, Colour Pencil on Paper
CHOW
Our memories are hardly ever unbiased. They are filtered through our brains and our hearts, which tend to be lenient and sensitive towards our emotions. What we end up with is a hazy glow of what our memories used to be through the fog of nostalgia. Childhood, in particular, by virtue of it being the foundation of our first memories, has the heaviest biases after years have passed and are the basis of my happiest memories. A by-product of looking at childhood memories is that I also have the freedom of exercising all of the imagination that my former self did in my work. In my exhibition, I wanted to look at childhood and nostalgia and the way our minds bend the truth.
Freedom, 2018, Ink and Marker on Paper
The Escape, 2020, Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Post-it Facade, 2019, Mixed Media
Walking Memories, 2019, Fineliner on Paper
Bonds, 2019, Digital Art
YA S M I N E
XUAN
Emotions are inseparable from our lives. In my body of artwork I have explored the emotions experienced during different periods in my life journey. I experienced a totally new lifestyle after moving to Hong Kong. I have found that the cultures, environments, languages, and all of the changing details around my move have shaped who I am right now. In the journey of moving to Hong Kong and getting used to the international environment, I experienced a lot of different emotions such as worry, insecurity and hope. The emotions reveal my journey of growth that has made me a stronger and more independent individual.
The 2020 IBDP Visual Arts students wish to express their sincerest gratitude to everyone who has supported their artistic journey and made this exhibition possible. For their ongoing support, in every possible way, a big thank you to Jane Camblin and the school’s administrative team. Thank you to all of the visual arts teachers who encourage and inspire art education. Our students are a testament to your dedication and passion for the arts. Thank you to the parents for the support and encouragement you have continually shown, along this artistic journey. You supported these young artists to find strength and their voice through the arts. To William Lam and the facilities team we are so grateful for the time and dedication you give to help support us and to make all of our visions possible. Also, thanks to
Stanley Ma and the LLAC support staff for hosting the Meraki exhibition. And lastly, a special thanks to the Upper School Visual Arts Assistants, Yukiko Wong & Iris Chang for their dedication to supporting these amazing artists and helping them endlessly to achieve their goals. They truly are the backbone of the Upper School Art Department and I am grateful to have them on my team. It is the dedicated people who support our vision as teachers and artists that enable us to put on a show as wonderful as this. Invitation, Poster & Exhibition CatalogueDesigned by graphic designer Dana Chan Catalogue Production Editors Iris Chang & Vanessa Lucas Student Pages – Individual students
ARTISTS AKSHAY ATAPATTU DANA CHAN GIGI YANG JAMIE CHOW JULIAN WEI JUSTIN YU LOK TIN LIU MADI WONG MAGGIE MA NATASCHA LIPMAN NICOLE SIN SARAH WILLIAMS YASMINE XUAN
C A N A D I A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C H O O L O F H O N G K O N G