May 2017
HL Nafisa
HL Omama
SL Navera
SL Mashfik
HL Raj
HL Shamama
May 2015
Alex
My work explores aspects of human nature and behaviour. In my early piece Wild Order I suggest that humans are like animals by contrasting value and shape as well as juxtaposing wild animals with people. However, in The Good Deeds series I shifted my focus to human compassion. I continued to develop the use of light and dark to connote good and bad. It was in this series that I also began using the boards to indicate a barrier or struggle that one must overcome.
Challenges in this early work included learning how to manipulate digital images in Photoshop and developing new painting skills. Another challenge was to learn how to visualise abstract concepts such as feelings and thoughts. My solution was to use human gestures and poses for their various connotations. My large-scale piece From Where I Stand began as a representation of the way in which we strive towards our goals. Scale was a new challenge for me as I had to make practical decisions about materials and construction. Using wooden boards and plaster made the piece look solid and stationary. To bring some movement I created swirling lines, first using a squeegee then refining with large brushes. By extending my media to include three-dimensional plaster casts of the body, the figure began to interact with itself as it went in and out of the boards. Once I decided to construct boxes that connected the boards I was able to create a narrative-like sequence. I used size and space to represent aspects of time and how we experience it. I made significant connections with the works of Matteo Pugliese and George Segal who also represent the human body and how it interacts with surrounding situations. My research also included contemporary art as well as narrative art. |
Alveera
I began the course knowing that I wanted to create art that explores the dichotomy between ‘justice and injustice’. My interest in my chosen concentration is the result of my role as a privileged spectator in the poverty-stricken country of Bangladesh.
My early piece Gouge away, Delilah, neglects to represent me as an artist. Although I am fascinated with the story of Samson and Delilah, my cultural identity as a Bangladeshi feels disconnected from this biblical story. This, combined with my technical strength and interest in portraiture, led to two life-size, charcoal and ‘erasure’ drawings, ‘Erased Backgrounds’ that explore how we make assumptions based on appearances and context. By literally erasing any physical traces of affluence or destitution in an individual I wanted to remind the viewer that we are all human and to challenge our preoccupation with the superficial. Research for this series involved an exploration of portraiture history including how conventions and functions have changed over time. At this point in the course, I began using my tendency to create large-scale artworks as a confrontational technique. Contemporary artist Michael Ray Charles helped synthesize the cut and paste layout of my series Dollhouse Dreams for the Working-Class. These pieces suggest that the ideals of a foreign lifestyle, being circulated through magazines in my third world nation, create a perpetual state of longing amongst the working-class for unattainable materialistic ambitions. In A Delightful Disruption, a personalized version of Royal Albert’s renowned ‘Old Country Roses’ china pattern, is meant to empower the disregarded working-class who find themselves surrounded by Bengali upper class decadence. Artists Ronit Baranga and Ah Xian have inspired the visual presentation of this working-class ‘disruption’ of upper class guiltless self-indulgence. |
Anisa
In early work such as, the Bird Outside the Kitchen series, I portray growth and decay. Inspired by the bold use of material in Hagerty’s, Flower Frenzy, I began experimenting with photo-transferring crows over coffee stains, ink, charcoal, conte and acrylic. El Greco’s portrayal of heaven and hell in The Burial of Count Orgaz influenced my use of different compositional zones. Cultural research into crows revealed a plethora of connotations; I admired how crows maintain community roots while retaining their own individuality. Thus the recurring imagery of crows provides a glimpse into the ideal and serves as a form of escapism for the viewer.
In my next piece, Suburban Dreams, I mimic the necessity of sleeping inside the protection of mosquito nets. I continued my markmaking techniques; splashes of dulled acrylic for the outside of my enclosure indicate decomposition, whilst a dreamy landscape of black and white acrylic appears inside. This provided the appropriate backdrop for the rotating lamp which projects flying crows, and music to provide a sanctuary for the viewer while isolating them. In Fragments, inspired by Pollock’s use of textures and Kiefer’s stark landscapes, my work evokes a polarity of emotions. Feelings of isolation, decay, despair, hell; starkly contrast with feelings of freedom, growth and heaven with the recurring crows to symbolize how we jump to and from such extremes. Due to the unconventional choice of materials my scale often evolves from initially constrained proportions to the monstrous. Thus my main struggle has been trying to exert control over my outcomes. I managed to achieve this in Birds of Play, inspired by Michelangelo’s Slaves, where I carved armatures of crows in varying sizes. Black silicone sealant oozes down their bead-encrusted form and the dramatic placement creates a tableau of a private moment between the crows. |
Mahathir
Growing up in the 90’s, I was regularly exposed to superheroes through tv, movies and comics. I believed that superheroes were all about super strength, wearing capes and flying high in the sky. But as a Bangladeshi, from a country where over 60% of the population struggles with poverty, I now realize that the real heroes are the hard working people of my country. In fact, they exhibit characteristics very similar to, and even more admirable than, those fictional heroes I grew up in awe of. My artwork is about these heroes.
Photography is a passion of mine. One of my biggest strengths is candid portrait photography. I have tried to build on this strength by documenting working class people and aspects of their lives in order to tell stories about their struggles. Throughout the course I have continued to develop my photography and Photoshop skills and experimented with adding acrylics to my Everyday Heroes series. Artists ranging from Tracey Moffatt and Roy Lichtenstein, who appropriate different elements from comics and pop culture, influenced how I have highlighted local issues in my work, as can be seen in my Comical Life series. Other research includes first hand experience and interactions with other Bangladeshis, as well as, various secondary sources for artist influences, tutorials to learn new skills and techniques. I have researched about comics and their influence on fine art. Through narrative art and social commentary, I am telling stories of those who struggle in their everyday lives and work hard to earn a living. The most significant weakness I have faced was working at a slow pace. To overcome my struggle I have worked on managing my time better and working more efficiently. |
Wasif
The primary focus for my artwork was to explore the pace of modern life. As such, my work is meaningful to me, especially as an IB student, as I am always rushing from one part of my life to another and so are the people around me. My inspiration came from looking at my own and other people’s lives and finding the similar features, which is the transition from one place, time and activity to another.
The direction and overlapping of brushstrokes in each piece helps create the hectic feeling and build the meaning as they rush over each other. Research into gesture and action painting of Abstract Expressionism helped me learn how to create a feeling of movement with my brushstrokes. Influenced by Kara Walker, I used silhouettes to suggest the gestures in every artwork to support the meaning. Strips of colored paper support the change of pace as there is a variation of the size of the strips and overlapping of the colors. The landscape orientation of the long pieces narrates the meaning behind every piece. Throughout the course, I experimented with a range of different media such as charcoal, graphite, conte and acrylic paint. The second piece “Steps Through Life” from the start of Grade 11 is my strongest piece since I had the opportunity to express all of my intentions as accurately as possible. However, I have developed these skills from the start of Grade 11 and my work has improved in terms of the process and quality. The problem that I have faced was an attempt to develop the meaning of my work and adding a stronger concept to it’s meaning. I have tried to overcome this problem by looking back and adding or replacing certain elements within the pieces. |
Saloni
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Power and struggle are predominant themes in my body of work. Recent socio-political events in my home country of India, such as the ban on homosexuality, inspired me to explore the relationship between the individual and society. In early artworks such as I Will Not, I focused on the constraints over one’s identity as forced by the gender norms and stereotypes of a society. Eventually my pieces started dealing with the idea of conformism emphasizing themes of submission and authority in a society. In the installation, We Love You, which I consider one of my strongest pieces, I used the enclosure metaphorically to explore the idea of conformity in society. I do this by literally forcing the viewers to either contort themselves or take a submissive position in order to fit into the box.
I find strengths in the technical aspects of my artworks since I like to experiment with different techniques and media such as plaster or animation to express my ideas. Inspired by Shahzia Sikander’s process of exhausting imagery in different contexts, my pieces tend to borrow imagery from each other in order to explore and develop my themes and ideas. For example, Society Needs is a fusion of elements and processes recycled from my collages 49.9% Complete and Spark. The cadmium red hands are symbolic of oppression in society while the human silhouette embodies a collective individual transcending gender and nationality. I have researched into artists ranging from Kara Walker for her concept of the silhouettes and William Kentridge for his style of animation to Expressionist artists such as Willem de Kooning and Wassily Kandinsky. Ultimately, my aim is to provide social commentary on issues that lead individuals to both reveal and conceal aspects of their identity. |
Sheazeen (Option B)
I wanted to focus on creating pieces that depicted nature and the impact technology has on our generation. As technology has advanced, most of our time is dedicated to social media. We tend to look for the easy way out. We go through a lot by using tools such as Photoshop and other editing applications just to be able to post content that is worthy of pleasing others. I thought the best way to execute this idea would be by comparing and contrasting technology with nature. Another way I decided to portray our generation was through the use of social media. I have worked with a wide range of different media such as charcoal, ink, acrylic paint, Photoshop, and photography. Two artists that have influenced my work are Barbara Kruger and Flora Borsi. I spent a lot of time this year working with image and text and looking at Barbara Kruger’s work has resulted in me developing my work to a greater extent. I chose to look at Flora Borsi as we work in similar ways.
I was not only inspired by looking at artists but by observing my surroundings too. My primary sources consisted of looking at other people’s posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. What I realized was that most people tend to post very personal content, having the impression that people are interested to see their daily lifestyle. I think my strongest piece is the birdcage I created last year. This was the only piece where I was able to express my intentions in the way I wanted to. My work and ideas have developed over the past few months, causing me to explore a different direction compared to what I had started off with. |
Sohini
The purpose of my artworks is to make the viewer feel uncomfortable and out of place as they consider issues of labour surrounding the local garment industry. My work touches on social issues which are often kept hidden in modern Dhaka.
In my early piece Sew Long, I created my first plaster cast, which I kept white. My intention was to show the absence of emotion and individuality through the worker’s body while at the same time showing her hopes and dreams as well as her skill. The long fabric symbolizes time passing including how long she sits in one spot sewing. It was at this time that I began to develop an affinity towards sculpture and making casts, as it was the most immediate way to show my ideas. In the next pieces, Sew many and Sew what, the hands started to represent the experiences of different people while the fabric and stitching represents their thoughts. My own process, of sitting in one spot putting on the cast and waiting for it to dry, echoed the process of the assembly lines in these factories where they repeat and reassemble the same cloth pieces everyday. One challenge I faced was underestimating how time consuming and tedious I found the process. As a result, I learned how to multi-task and work more efficiently. A major influence on my piece Sew what was Germaine Koh’s Knitwork for the way she recycled sweaters and reproduced her artwork. In So What I too reused clothes that I collected from my subjects previous lives to show their personal experience through each hand. My research has always included going directly to the garment factories and interviewing the workers. I feared during the process that I would make assumptions and I wanted to represent my subjects truthfully. |
Tasnia (Option B)
My exploration has been a way for me to understand my role in society. Throughout this course, I explored the distinction between us the privileged and them the underprivileged using windows, a tangible object that literally creates this socio-economic division. My primary intention was to bring into focus the ignored members of our society and confront the viewer by implicating him or her in the artworks. Early on, through photographic pieces such as Light Junkie I focused on the societal treatment or rather mistreatment of the underprivileged. However, it was not until my later piece Blind-ed that the idea of depicting windows as a metaphorical representation of the bubble of luxury that I live within, came into play. The viewer becomes the ‘privileged’ on the inside and is able to choose whether or not to open the blind to view reality outside. The pieces that followed were built around this device.
As I continued to work with charcoal in the series Kheyal (which translates to ‘to give attention’), my research ranged from artists who work with charcoal (Kollwitz), to windows (Matisse) to those who deal with the local issues of poverty (Zainul Abedin). This included close studies of their artworks as well as appropriating processes and techniques. Despite the struggles of working with charcoal, conte and chalk, I continued to use this media throughout the series and as a result have made notable progress in understanding visual elements such as contrast, hard and soft edges, background and foreground. The life-size scale on which I have worked throughout the course has helped me maximize the impact of involving my viewers. This can be seen in my last piece knock, knock, knock… where the viewer is on the outside, in the position of a beggar or street vendor. |
Selected Work from Past Exhibitions
Andrew (Option B)
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Social issues and commentary are at the heart of my work. In early artworks such as, Our Cruelty Shines Through The Darkness or Noise, I focus on global issues and how we deal with, or rather, do not deal with them. Through the gradual layering of images and text in each piece there is an eventual loss. For example, in my box piece, the literal and metaphorical light is lost by the layering of the “world’s problems” (ie. the slides). In Noise, individual beliefs and values are layered until they lose all meaning. My research ranged from artists who work with boxes (Cornell) or text (Kruger, the Guerilla Girls), to video art (Nauman).
Later in the course, my ideas shifted from broad global issues to specific Ukrainian issues of cultural identity that have a more personal context. In Stitch the very act of stitching is an act of mending the holes in our national pride. As such, I am literally in the process of stitching my Ukrainian identity onto an image of myself that is connected by a delicate thread to the Ukrainians around me. Inspired by contemporary artists like Jungen and Mas, I have taken a traditional art form and used it in a very contemporary way. Through my visits with a local embroiderer I came to understand not only embroidery techniques but more importantly, how this art form is a part of our history and brings us together as families and as a culture. Further technical research included digital photography, lighting and Photoshop. I was able to transfer many of these photography skills to my more playful Tourist project in which I both observe and document other Ukrainians as tourists in their own country. Through this process I was able to rediscover aspects of my home. |
Jens (Option B)
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My work has been a way for me to explore and understand the personal. Early on this included my investigation into aspects of my identity and personality. This can be seen in the collage works such as, Paths 1 and Paths 2 in which I depict my alter-ego. In both pieces my alter-ego is a tool to explore aspects of myself and identity where my focus is the question “Who am I?” Like van Gogh’s chairs, in both of my Self-Portraits, I have depicted myself as something else—a couch and an iPod. For these works, technical research included both perspective and investigations into color as well as, research into the collage work of artists such as Kurt Schwitters and Matisse.
I consider my large sculptures “Pull” and “Push” to be my most successful pieces in which I demonstrated tremendous growth both technically and conceptually. These pieces were driven by my personal experiences of loss, separation, distance and inner struggle. In both pieces, tension has been created by the pushing and/or pulling of the figure who struggles to hold on or break free. I used black and red in both pieces to emphasize both the pain and love in my struggle. In “Pull” I also used rough texture with black paint to create the effect of a dark abyss. The large scale of both pieces helps emphasize the importance of space and distance. “Pull” and “Push” were influenced by artists such as, Vito Annonci and Janine Antoni who explore concepts similar to mine including aspects of balance and close connection. My research into artists and artworks who capture tension and emotion in the body range from the Hellenistic Laocoon and Del Pollaiuolo to Henry Moore and Antony Gormley. |
Jeremy (Option B)
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From the beginning of the course I did not try to pursue a deliberate theme. I did, however, struggle to make visual and conceptual connections. It was not until the end of the course that it became clear that my work reflects my struggles to understand both the relationships between my inner-self and my environment, as well as, my behaviour.
Influenced by Pollock and Rothko, architecture and enclosures, The Edge is comprised of upright boards that balance each other. Undoubtedly, the boards eventually collapse. However, the tension acts as a metaphor for my emotional control. The outside marks express my range of responses to my environment. This contrasts with the inside red that suggests my inner emotions/ passion. The boards turn up in the later photographic piece; It’s kinda like The Shining, as the towering backdrop for a tiny hand-drawn stick-figure (me) trying to escape my oppressive environment. My dramatic use of red reappears along with angles, light, shadow to contrast with the playful figure. In The Great Column, I continue to personalize architectural forms with a column that represents myself. Inspired by Trajan’s Column, there is a narrative component to this piece—my private story of personal growth. Through the openings created I am able to control how much of my private story the viewer can see at once. Like my outer self, the column acts as a protector of my feelings. In both Cropped 0ut and Engineering Emotions, the building of inner emotions in response to outside influences is depicted through body gesture and facial expressions. My technical research ranged from Caravaggio or Vermeer’s use of light to modern photographers such as Platon, Kander and Penn. Sherman’s Film stills inspired me to convey emotions through narrative photography. |
Ola
Moving away from my home country two years ago was a great challenge for me. This experience has formed the basis of my artworks which revolve around the themes of place and belonging. I tried to use my personal experience of struggling with issues like being away from family, friends, and places important for me to create work that others could identify with. That is to say, most people have felt both a sense of entrapment as in ‘Thoughts Are Invisible’ or ‘My Unknown World’ and freedom in ‘Live with what is here(…)’.
An area of growth for me has been my use of materials and techniques. After experimenting with various media I have finally discovered materials I feel comfortable working with. Early on I worked with 2D pieces made with acrylics or watercolors and although I consider my ‘Series of Belonging’ successful, I feel more comfortable with 3D pieces. Although I experienced technical drawbacks, these were ultimately overcome and hence enriched my artistic experience. My work with plaster allowed me to create real body features which I obtained in several artworks. I consider ‘Thoughts of Belonging’ or ‘Guiding Hand’ as strong pieces with meaningful interpretations. While creating artworks I came across works by artists such as George Segal and Barbara Kruger, where the use of plaster and text affected me. Text is an element in my work that creates another layer of meaning especially in ‘Thoughts Are Invisible’ and ‘Live with what is here (...)’. The body parts made of plaster show importance of human issues in my artworks. When creating the last pieces I concentrated on Joseph Cornell’s as well as Johannes Vermeer’s use of details and ambiguity. Being influenced by various artists, I combined their techniques with specific materials which altogether strengthened the ideas of my artworks. |
Sveta
Mikari