A R T
E X H I B I T I O N
2 0 2 1
W I T H I N G T O N Hello and welcome to our annual art exhibition which takes the format of a digital show once again this year, following the huge success of last year’s brilliant display of Art. Every year our Upper Sixth artists title the show and after a few discussions and a number of varied suggestions, the word ‘Undertones’ was democratically selected for a number of interesting reasons. In Art, undertones are usually thought of as being the first layers of a painting which form the foundation of composition but more importantly the set out the important tonal values from which the rest of the painting will follow. The Upper Sixth felt that the word encapsulated all of their projects in some way, and they thought that the word would provoke viewers to delve a bit deeper into understanding the roots of their work and not only appreciate it on a more superficial level. There are indeed many levels and layers to immerse yourself in. The whole show is a tremendous achievement on the part of all of the immensely talented artists, who have worked incredibly hard over what has been, from my point of view, the most unusual and testing twoyear period for them in their lives and indeed in their education. I can honestly say that each and every one of these ladies has absolutely risen to and overcome all the challenges that they have been faced with and they should be immensely proud of the personal growth that they have shown and the outstanding artwork that they have each so thoughtfully created. The Upper Sixth have simply been a joy to teach. As a group, they have shown drive, determination, commitment and creativity that shows no bounds. Their very individual and personal projects have been devised and driven by themselves and cover such a wide-range of subjects, from the natural and built environments, to the human condition and mythology,
G I R L S ’
S C H O
and spanning disciplines such as animation and illustration to sculpture and installation, and of course the wonderful staples of drawing and painting. They have inspired me greatly of the past two years and more, they are incredible young ladies and I know they have such bright, creative futures ahead of them. I wish them all the very best for their exciting journeys after Withington. And now to the tremendous Upper Fifth, what a mature and sophisticated GCSE show, displaying skills and ideas beyond their years. Each should be thrilled with their very thorough coursework portfolios, which have been created with such care and attention. Their versatility in working from such different genres such as natural forms and portraiture is just brilliant and testament to their adaptability and level of technical prowess. They too have been a delight to work with over the past two years and I am very much looking forward to continuing to help on their creative endeavours at A Level next year. I would love to also say a huge, thank you, to the simply outstanding Art Department whom I work alongside. Their absolute passion in all that they do is simply second to none and so crucial to all the successes you see within this exhibition and the department as a whole. I do hope you enjoy all of the work here and I encourage you just to take a few moments longer to really appreciate each and every work of art and all of the ‘undertones’ which have been vital in their creation.
MRS FILDES HEAD OF ART
O L
A R T
E X H I B I T I O N
“ Painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain, you end up boring people.”
2 0 2 1
The Upper Sixth Art students have created exciting bodies of work in a wide range of media: Animation, embroidery, installation, pencil and painting have been used with exemplary skill. As well as developing their technical ability and artistic expertise, students also enhanced their knowledge and understanding of contemporary and historical artists. Exploring themes such as the Holocaust, the ways in which women present themselves in art, landscape, portraiture, tromp l’oeil and mythology, their work reflects their independence of mind and differing interests. This diversity has encouraged sophisticated artwork and well-developed written analysis in their Related Studies. How experiencing trauma impacts creativity and alters expression, how Monet represented the passage of time and how artists have used form, composition, and texture to explore the effects of nature, were just some of the questions students posed themselves. We are exceptionally proud of how motivated and hard-working the Upper Sixth have been throughout their final year at Withington, and there is no doubt their work will be highly influential to the next generation of artists coming through the School.
Edgar Degas
MRS JOHNSTON TEACHER OF ART
WHERE GIRL S SHINE
ANNA B
GCSE ART & DESIGN
THIS IS ME
OIL ON CANVAS BOARD
THIS IS ME
OIL ON BOARD
TYLER B
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
CHARCOAL ON PAPER
NATURAL FORMS FINAL PIECE
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
EMMA D
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
WATERCOLOUR JOINER PAINTING
THIS IS ME
OIL ON BOX CANVAS
ALEXANDRA DM
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER
NATURAL FORMS
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS PAPER
AMELINE H
GCSE ART & DESIGN
THIS IS ME
OIL ON CANVAS PAPER
NATURAL FORMS FINAL PIECE
WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER
MARIAM H
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS FINAL PIECE
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
THIS IS ME FINAL PIECE
OIL AND LEAVES ON WOOD BLOCK
PENNY H
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
NATURAL FORMS FINAL PIECE
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
FATIMAH I
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER
THIS IS ME
OIL ON PAPER
MARYAM J
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER
NATURAL FORMS’
WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER
MAYA J
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
WATERCOLOUR AND COLLAGE ON PAPER
THIS IS ME FINAL PIECE
OIL AND COLLAGE ON PAPER
AMELIA K
GCSE ART & DESIGN
THIS IS ME
OLI ON BOARD
NATURAL FORMS
WATERCOLOUR JOINER PAINTING
HANNAH L
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
ACRYLIC JOINER PAINTING
THIS IS ME
OIL ON CANVAS
ELLIE N
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
THIS IS ME
OIL ON BOX CANVAS
SOPHIE R
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
ACRYLIC JOINER PAINTING
THIS IS ME
OIL ON CANVAS PAPER
RIA S
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
THIS IS ME
OIL ON BOX CANVAS
TAMMI S
GCSE ART & DESIGN
NATURAL FORMS
ACRYLIC AND COLLAGE ON PAPER
NATURAL FORMS FINAL PIECE
ACRYLIC AND COLLAGE ON PAPER
CHIARA T
GCSE ART & DESIGN
THIS IS ME
OIL ON BOX PAPER
NATURAL FORMS FINAL PIECE
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
MIA A
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
OIL ON PAPER
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
OIL AND MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER
MIA A
A LEVEL FINE ART
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
OIL AND ACRYLIC PEN ON GLASS
PERSONAL RESPONSE
OIL ON BOX CANVAS
SOPHIA B
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
OIL ON PAPER
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
OIL AND WIRE ON WATERCOLOUR PAPER
SOPHIA B
PERSONAL RESPONSE
A LEVEL FINE ART
OIL, COLLAGE AND BARBED WIRE ON CARDBOARD BOX
ANOUSKA B
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
CLAY, WIRE, CARD AND MODROC SCULPTURES
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
CLAY AND INK ON BOARD
ANOUSKA B
PERSONAL RESPONSE
A LEVEL FINE ART
CARD, WIRE AND MODROC SCULPTURE
ELEANOR C
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
PENCIL ON PAPER
SKETCHBOOK RESEARCH
WATERCOLOUR AND PEN ON PAPER
ELEANOR C
A LEVEL FINE ART
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
COLOURED PENCIL ON PAPER
PERSONAL RESPONSE
COLOURED PENCIL AND GRAPHITE ON PAPER
RAAIDA H
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
OIL ON PAPER
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
OIL AND WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER
RAAIDA H
A LEVEL FINE ART
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
WATERCOLOUR AND OIL ON GLASS
PERSONAL RESPONSE
OIL ON PERSPEX
HANNAH J
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
WADDING AND STRIP LIGHTING
HANNAH J
A LEVEL FINE ART
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
WADDING AND SPOT LIGHTING
PERSONAL RESPONSE
WADDING AND STRIP LIGHTING
OLIVIA M
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
EMBROIDERY ON FABRIC
OLIVIA M
A LEVEL FINE ART
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
EMBROIDERY ON COPPER SHEET METAL
PERSONAL RESPONSE
EMBROIDERY ON WIRE MESH
EMMA S
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
INKS AND COLOURED PENCIL ON PAPER
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER
EMMA S
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL RESPONSE
BRUSHO, ACRYLIC AND COLOURED PENCIL ON PAPER
ALEX S
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
DIGITAL PAINTING
COURSEWORK DEVELOPMENT
DIGITAL PAINTING
ALEX S
A LEVEL FINE ART
COURSEWORK DEVELOPMENT
DIGITAL PAINTING
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
DIGITAL PAINTING
KALIA Y
A LEVEL FINE ART
PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
ACRYLIC ON PAPER
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
OIL ON PAPER
KALIA Y
A LEVEL FINE ART
COURSEWORK EXPERIMENTATION
OIL ON PAPER
PERSONAL RESPONSE
OIL AND EMBROIDERY ON LEATHER