ENERGIES ARTWORKS - page 2

Phoebe Humphreys

Die for fashion

Graphite and lead pencil on Canson Drawing paper

“Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without” (Rue McClanahan).

This generation takes advantage of animals and seems to forget that they too are living things. They care more about how people value their appearance then the value of animal’s lives. If we had to kill and skin animals ourselves few people would wear animal skin because of the cruel violence that the animals suffer for the price of a coat. No human would want to be skinned alive and made into clothes so why do we do it to other innocent creatures? Why does this generation care so little about such severe abuse?

Grace Phillips

Survival

Mixed Media

Art is survival, it’s how you view the world, your opinion, your thought patterns it’s the very reason you and I are different. I like to believe I know God, and in doing so things make more sense. Naivety is a beautiful thing, like a unicorn or a sphinx. However that is not to say that the ‘truth’ is an awakening to the chaos of the world, it’s merely a reminder of reality. Nihilism and sanguineness seem to play a tug of war in my life and my work, fueling my youthful exuberance and will to inspire. My work expresses a balance between a safe place and a destructive escape.

Stefanie Preindi
Grounded
Photography and Acetate

'Grounded' is my metaphor; it means to be one with the world and to feel like you belong. The series represents my love of travel and need to explore. The shoes represent my approach to life. They point forward to express the future and the unkown. Distortion represents memories and aspirations.

Brooke Baxter

Journey

Ceramic Sculpture, lamp and Mixed Media on Canvas

Textural markings and lines represent paths, destinations, round-abouts and corners as metaphors for life’s journey. They demonstrate aspects of emotional states, chance, opportunity, change and choices.  The holes and dots in the sculpture, inspired by Yayoi Kusama, are indicative of significant events or points in an individual’s journey. The light in the sculpture conveys that when we express ourselves (rather than staying quiet), we become different in the eyes of others around us, allowing them to finally see what we are capable of.

Shannon Labuschange

Opposing Truths

Mixed Media on Found Chairs

To exist and participate in the cosmos is to change, and to change, is to die. Nothing serves as a more humbling reminder; regardless of wealth, ethnicity or species, we are all subject to the impartial hand of mortality. The images of the animals’ skeletons serve to represent the two opposing truths of existence and how close they are to overlapping. They also serve to degrade human superiority, reminding viewers we are collectively part of an ephemeral world. It is my hope that through this piece viewers are encouraged to exist humbly; simply exist well.

Ellen Zaharis

‘Distorted Reality’

Digital photos in frames

Feeling ‘misplaced in society’ is the over-arching message I wish to communicate through my series of works, through the disassembled and rearranged faces as well as the subtle inclusion of animals recurring throughout the artwork. I have conveyed the idea of each and every one of us feeling misplaced as we try to hide the animal inside of us, our true nature, in order to appear “normal”. My work was influenced by artists who have used distortion in their artworks. The idea of double exposure to create two images in one was the foundation for my work. I researched many images that utilized this technique and began to experiment with that in my own work. In the creating of this artwork I was challenged with creating an original ‘spin’ on distortion as it is a style that has been used in many different ways.

Kayleigh Richmond

‘Self Destruction Through Consumption’

Mixed media collage on acrylic panels

As humans we are almost predisposed to mistreat our bodies, poor diet, lack of exercise and general abuse soon takes its toll. Focusing on the concept of Organ Damage, with an emphasis on the body’s major organs, the lungs, heart, kidney, brain and liver this work depicts damaged organs as a result of self-inflicted consumption. Using a mixed media approach these works aim to provide the viewer with an alternative message about the results of our neglect.

Jaeda Abraham

‘Renaissance Revival’

Digital photographs in frames

This series of digitally manipulated photographs celebrate the ‘softness’ and elegance that exists within women, which is often forgotten or overlooked. Influenced by Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ I have endeavoured to enhance the beauty of young women today. Their stance reflects and appropriates that of the Renaissance imagery but utilises 21st Century technology to combine modernity and grace.

Sienna Upton

'Non-entity'

Mixed media on wood

Taking inspiration from Performance art these works have evolved into a series of complex paintings that reflect both my difficulty with the written word and my fascination of automatic drawing. Exploring the juxtaposition of shape, line and texture I have created a Body of Work that allows a glimpse into my personal battle with dyslexia and the lack of restrictions that Art affords me.

Georgiana Vine

Ultra World

Digital photograph

When and where we are influence our lives everyday, from the time we wake up to the time we again sleep. Some of both our waking and sleeping hours, throughout our lives, are spent in a time and place suspended between the physical and the imaginary. The boy portrayed in my photograph wears an animal mask, which allows him to inhabit an intermediary position that separates children from adults, and fantasy from reality. The photograph suggests simultaneously both the familiar and the unfamiliar, and an awareness of a place and time in between these opposites. Beneath the horse mask the child’s image is both present and absent, tangible and intangible. At various stages of our lives the amount of time we spend in either sphere, the real world or the ultra world will vary.

Hailey Quiazon

Frozen in Time

Digital photograph

Life is a rollercoaster, its full of ups, downs, twists and turns that we never expect. But that is also the beauty of life; it is never boring. We go through tough times but we also experience triumphs and successes. The different coloured powders portrayed represent the good and bad events that occur in our lives. The genuine reaction of the model portrays our reactions to the obstacles being thrown our way in day-to-day life. My work explores the idea of being pounded by life’s events, but also our ability to survive and stay strong even as things sometimes swamp us from all sides.

Selina Cullen

Impatience

Digital photograph of constructed costume

Impatience reflects our all-consuming desire for technology. I am depicted as ‘Orianna’, a popular character from the famous MOBA game ‘League of Legends’. Many gamers invest hundreds of hours in this game, and I can understand how easily one can become addicted. Such video games allow people to easily disconnect from the real world and become submerged into a false reality. Ironically, Orianna’s costume design resembles a futuristic robot – a humanoid like figure encased in metal. I intended to symbolize technology’s tight grasp on us through encasing myself in fake armour that affords me no real protection. Our society may be inventive and creative but if we are not careful, our constant need for technology will consume us, leaving behind an empty shell of what was once humanity.

April Vansleve

‘Neon’ from the Witches series

Digital painting

Focusing on the individual strengths of women across countries and racial backgrounds, the Witches series conveys the abilities of five different girls as forms of non-conventional 'magic'. As witches are known for having been persecuted in history for their supposed 'powers', I saw a similar struggle for modern-day girls; whose talents and culture may also be misinterpreted by those who are ignorant. 'Neon', highlights the internal strength of some women. As she leaps from the colour cityscape behind her, the neon lights empower her, her home and surroundings having enabled and influenced her in a positive way giving her strength to be her self. People's initial perceptions of girls may be misleading. Despite a person's appearance or demeanour, misunderstanding often obscures their true nature.

Monet Mooney

Tree of Time

Pen drawing on brown card

In answer to the concept ‘Time and Place’, I explored how rings of a tree trunk are representations of time. As a tree ages, more rings appear, meaning they are a literal map of the life of that particular tree. The fact that my work naturally evolved, created over a large period of time, means that this work also represents a map of my life during that period of time. With no prior planning as to the order of the patterns in the bands, rather my mood and emotions of each day inspired the organic growth of the work. The concentric circles depicted in ‘Tree of Time’ have a strong link to the idea of growth.

Caitlin Maher

The Familiar Face with the Shattered Mind

Performance Piece - Digital

Imagine seeing someone in front of you, the face you have seen and loved for many years but when they speak, you don’t recognise them at all. This is the reality for the families of 342,800 people who suffer from dementia in Australia as of 2015. This was also my reality.

Over five years, I watched his devastating deterioration; he slowly forgot his whole life, his family and finally himself.  I saw the man I had come to know, love and admire as my Pop fade into a disease.  Alzheimer’s. 

Elise Achatz 

The decay of beauty

Digital Prints, x-rays, flowers

This body of work hopes to recognize the impermanence of beauty and that each and every human life is precious, even in their inevitable decay.

               

Alex Thorpe

Forfeiture

Digital prints

Each piece in my series demonstrates the pain of loss and abandonment. This message has been conveyed through the faded figures (almost shadow like) hovering near the past, clear versions of themselves. 

Rocky Utai

Blinded

Mixed Media on Watercolour Paper

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder  …or is it?

Freja Bergenholtz

An Artificial Mentality

Assemblage

This work is a critical approach to the concept of the power of influence on females. Females are surrounded by influential objects that make them want to change themselves to be someone that they’re not. Women wore these tight fitting undergarments to change the shape of their body. Chewing gum is a newer trend for women who aspire to be thinner. This candy manipulates the brain to think it has eaten. Chewing gum has been used to explore the idea that women are constantly manipulated and stretched to be someone they ‘should’ be. This is often unrealistic and dangerous.

Saskia Geraghty

Genesis - Series of nine encaustic artworks.

Encaustic wax and Shellac

The mystery of our creation is one that has inspired curiosity based on humanity’s identity  throughout history and is still being explored today.  The question of our creation and identity resonates with both scientific and religious perspectives.  Genesis captures the beauty of space and the most believed source of our origins, representing  identity as a part of a much greater, vast and beautiful world  that is yet to be discovered.  Using melted wax, shellac and a flame torch recreates the harsh environments of space, the intense heat melts the wax, followed by cooling, repeated constantly until individual  nebulas form within the separate squares.

Claire Duncan

Fear My Mind

Photography

Fear is defined as 'an unpleasant emotion caused by threat of danger, pain or harm.' This series is an exploration of a personal experience of fear. This is the way fear and anxiety manifest themselves in my life. The harsh movement emphasises the struggle within my mind. During the process of working in the darkroom (an often solitary pursuit), I have explored and manipulated these photographs while also examining myself and my mind..... see what I have found.

Kharisma Wright

I’m Going to Die Before I Finish This

Ink on paper and video presentation

I’m Going To Die Before I Finish This destroys the idealization of the ease of doodling. Personally, drawing mandalas is freeing the mind; it’s an act of escapism from the grave responsibilities blurring my mind. Pen on paper without any plan is an incredible indulgence; thoughts of lines and dots and curves weaved together in a particular pattern occupies my mind rather than assignments, homework and exams. Hours upon hours are spent on each drawing; however, the finished product doesn’t express the time and effort it took to create it. I’m Going To Die Before I Finish This tells a tale between the lines of the thought process of drawing something I’ve only instantly envisioned in my mind.

Emily Gage

Cruel indulgence

Mixed Media on 2 canvases

The greed of human nature is evident when the viewer understands the length mankind will go to for money.  My artwork portrays the indulgence of acquiring exotic birds through a cruel, illegal trade. The lower artwork depicts innocent birds forcefully crammed into cardboard tubes and sewn into a suitcase, unaware of the life ahead of them. Featured in the top artwork is an Australian King Parrot desperate for freedom, imprisoned in an unrealistically small cage. These exotic birds are purchased by wealthy individuals who only care about their own personal gratification rather than the welfare of these animals. 

Jewel Collins

Merging of the Past and Future

Oil on MDF board and canvas

This work was inspired by the concept of ‘time perspective’, where individuals divide the flow of human experiences into the different time frames of past, present and future, and how the merging of the past and present creates and inspires the actions of the individual in the present. The work depicts two images of a single person, merged in the inverted centre, similar to that of a Venn diagram. The inverted centre is representative of the present, and the two subjects merged represent one’s past and future self. Communicating that who you are now, is based on both who you once were and who you aim to be.

Zarabella Laoutaris

The Labyrinth Mind

Spray-paint, felt tip texta, posca pen, impasto gel, digital image, laminate, acrylic paint, hot glue on watercolour paper.

This work exposes the flaws in our perception; thinking we can leave our future to work itself out, but in fact we have to persevere in the present. Influenced by humankind’s ability to set goals and rise above pain or yearning, this work explores the realities of personal progress and the trappings of everyday routines. It highlights that if we aspire for a better future, we better be proactive in our everyday life because just like a dream, our future reality is never promised.

Georgie Rankin

Don’t know what we’ve got ‘till it’s gone

Wearable: found wood (tree leaves and branches), clear tape, hot glue, on mannequin;

Canvas: pencil, found wood, hot glue on canvas

My artwork is all about holding onto nature when moving forward into the future. The future is depicted through the futuristic style of structure demonstrated in the wearable art piece, as well as in the geometric alignment of the face. This artwork revolves around the preservation of nature and this is presented through the natural materials used. It is true, we don’t know what we’ve got ‘till it’s gone and therefore if we purely look towards advancing economically, agriculturally and technologically then we will continue to kill off the environment. With this narrow-minded view, it is inevitable humanity will continue to contribute to the decay of the raw and the real, with the beauty of the natural world merely fading into oblivion.

Georgia Allison

Layers of Self

Photo media

In our society we continually use photography to examine aspects of self. In the age of the Internet, online personalities and profiles, as well as obsessive online documentation of activities and characteristics, identity has become more fluid, pluralistic, multifaceted, detailed and, at times, illusive and elusive. We constantly recreate ourselves as we attempt to become what others wish us to be.  My photographs and film reveal aspects of shifting identity, exploring the relationship between other’s perceptions and our own perceptions who we really are. 

Georgia Holmes

“Vanitas: Momento Mori”

Mixed media on canvas

Drawing inspiration from 17th Century Flemish paintings, “Vanitas: Momento Mori” conveys the inevitability of the passage of time. The portrait transitioning into a skull reminds the viewer of the transient nature of life, the futility of pleasure and the certainty of death.  I have embraced a diversity of materials as they allowed unexpected occurrences to arise from the intrinsic variables of the media, challenging the flatness of the canvas surface. 

Meray Shonouda

Holocaust

Mixed media on Canvas

The echoes of the Holocaust continue to haunt us.  I have worked intuitively, directly onto the canvases, using mixed media and experimental techniques.  My canvases are in a state of transition as they are deliberately burnt, symbolically representing ravaged lives and the continuing aftereffects of the holocaustic cataclysm.  Eleven million Jews and non-Jews perished during the Holocaust. The world we live in today will never know the music, works of art, medical discoveries, acts of charity and other worthy contributions that perished along with each victim’s future.  "Holocaust" is not merely an account of human suffering. Prejudice and anti-Semitism are not only issues of the past. Hate crimes are on the rise and holocaust deniers threaten the future by attempting to change the past. My work makes an emotional plea to the viewer to ensure the atrocities of the past are remembered and never repeated.

Tianze Sun

Loneliness

Pencil on watercolour paper

Loneliness is a part of the human condition. It is something we all endure. I have drawn six different females with similar facial expressions to explore the perception of loneliness.  I believe it causes people to open up. I believe it causes people to close themselves up. I believe humans are torn between these two actions and all of these aspects can lead to a diversity of experiences. I believe that even through isolation, alienation and loneliness, people are on a journey of flight whether they’re aware or not. I believe that as humans, we all obtain disguised claws that strengthen us, allowing us to protect our emotions and hunt for a home for our heart.

Amelia Monroe

Absence and Presence

Mixed media on paper

My artwork, “Absence and Presence”, represents a personal narrative expressing my family connections and memories of childhood and relatives. The loss of the male figures in my life including my beloved father, brother and grandfather influenced me to dedicate my work to them. I desired to represent the absence of my loved ones who are still present in my life through memories, spiritual feelings, dreams and a sense of surrounding. In my artwork I developed my own style of sketching and painting as well as incorporating the use of subtle colours to embody raw emotion and the journey I experienced during the acceptance of life and death.

Eden Sika

Obliteration

Mixed media sculptural installation

My series of canvases and sculptural forms represent the transition within ourselves as we unhealthily obsess over technology. It is a flaw we have in society that slowly demolishes our inner being. The human faces incorporated in the canvases represent humanity. Internally, we self-destruct whilst admiring and obsessing over technology. The mirror on the large canvas is there so the viewer can observe their own distress.  The flowers have transitioned from alive to dead, as they represent our souls slowly obliterating because of our obsessive use of technology over time. 

  Ellie Wojtaszak

Red Solace

5 panels of digitally manipulated photographs and drawings

My artwork is based on the concept of war and the historical representation of soldiers throughout the modern age. The scanned pen and ink drawings, digitally merged with manipulated, original photographs portray the emotional distress and anguish associated with war and how the soldiers were affect by the death and destruction.   The bright flourishes of colour on each panel represent how the soldiers going to war were lead to believe that war was an adventure, while the dark, drawn images represent the nationalities involved in the conflicts as well as the soldiers arriving on the battle grounds and the realisation of the reality of the situation.

Kynan Clarke

Breaking the Fence

Manipulated digital images from scanned drawings, chicken wire, paper, ink

This piece entitled ‘Breaking the Fence’, is a mixed media artwork that represents the struggle of women to gain visibility and respect in a patriarchal society that needs them to fit into the traditional, stifling version of femininity.  The use of chicken wire represents the oppression while the leaves represent an extension of the oppressed feminine being.  The ribbons and leaves that include words represent a juxtaposition with what women are labelled as and what they should be called.

Saiyuri Govender

Revolution: Reverse evolution of man

Watercolour pencils, inks, wax pastels and graphite pencils on Paper

The central idea of the drawings is to highlight animal inequality, in particular the issue of animal hunting. I was inspired to focus on this topic after the international media coverage of a famous South African lion named Cecil, who was mercilessly hunted, beheaded and skinned by an American Dentist. My piece conveys what I feel is happening to society today; our humanity is degrading at a rapid pace. Ultimately, the evolution of man which has resulted in the complex beings we are today, will reverse because of our inhumanity towards animals. We participate in depraved acts of slaughtering them because of boredom, therefore we are no better than what we were millions of years ago; savage creatures.  Revolution: Reverse evolution of man showcases the implications of animal hunting and animal inequality.

Grace Crossley

Calm Before the Storm

Film

This film focuses on the ideology of the subconscious mind in the sublime. While everything may seem to be standing firm, in reality, someone’s life can be falling apart. This work aims to be a representation of the overwhelming sensations of panic and frustration juxtaposed with the paradox of emotions conveyed through music. It expresses the irony of the ‘calm before the storm’, the ‘tripping of wires’ and the ‘silent screams’. The film concludes with the penny dropping; a realisation of one’s situation and surroundings.

Catharine Wu

Metamorphosis

Oil pastels

This artwork captures the degrading process of an apple, sunflower and leaf within the last stages of their ‘lives’ through four still-images where each shows the next moment in time.  They are known as being typical or conventional examples of nature’s elements that thrive and develop within a natural environment therefore making the concept in which my artwork is built on the natural environment. The work has a physical context and focuses on metamorphosis. The chosen media was oil pastel for its vibrant and textured appearance.

Kalani Morrow

Jesus Christ 1 and 2

Conte and graphite on cartridge paper

The works respond to the concept of Existence with a focus of Religion.  For most of the word religion fosters the image of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the bible.  In this body of work I have explored the many ‘faces’ of Jesus and how the image can be manipulated to appeal to many generations and styles.  The works therefore explore a context of time and place.   The series is unlimited as it can continue to be manipulated and changed to reflect society, these works are but two within the series.

Mary Joan Solatan

Breath

Photography

This piece features a tangled tree skeleton, lifelessly arched over a pleasantly sitting cigarette box on a bench. The work responds to the concept of human existence and consequently the focus of our negative human impact on the environment. It is a satirical view on our neglect towards this ongoing crisis.  It portrays the message that all environmental damage is caused at our hand alone, evoking the realization that only we will suffer.

Saffron Faulkner

Exploration

Photography

The notion of exploration has been a human desire over the centuries.  This work responds to the concept of Existence with a focus on exploration.  Alien creatures were created using mixed media and installed in different environments making the context place and time.  As humans we explore and inhabit an environment then our focus moves to the next unknown, this is the essence of my body of work.

Zak Taylor

Always There

Manipulated Photography

“There’s a big difference when the thing you have chosen to do isn’t just your livelihood, you don’t do it just to make a living, but it’s just what you really enjoy doing all the time, you can’t just let it go it’s always there.” Rene Redzepi

The hospitality industry is my passion and has been this way forever. Growing up, I’ve held multiple jobs within the industry. Working as an apprentice, we are taught to follow the rules of the kitchen. With this in mind how are we are expected to break free of the mould and find ourselves?

Bryce O'Hara
Grief
Watercolour paint and ink pen

The art work “Grief” represents the feelings that an individual suffers through when faced with loss and in the stages of grieving. Each water colour painting embodies one of the stages of grief. The use of water colours for the paintings are to show the fluidity and uncontrollable nature of emotions, with the use of black pen outlines working as the barriers used to stop one’s self from collapsing into an unrecognisable emotional mess.

Joy Wong Lin
Gone with the wind
Mix of watercolour and acrylic on canvas

Everyone has a perception of their own lifestyle which contributes to creating their sense of identity, making them who they are. For me personally, a lifestyle is an attitude, and it is something we can create for ourselves, through the way we live. Identity is who you are as a person, the way you think about yourself, and the way you are viewed by the world and the characteristics that define you. I would like to think that I am a carefree person that ‘goes with the flow’ and embraces life as it comes. The work I have created shows my attitude towards life, a vibrant and unexpected life. Although identity is commonly associated with race and ethnicity, I have instead chosen to base this piece on the perception of my characteristics, which is my identity.

 

Anieka Van Twuiver
'Torn Fabric'
Watercolour

This image depicts a young Muslim woman whose burqa is gradually being ripped off.  Shreds of fabric have been removed revealing the skin which was previously hidden. The wearing of the burqa has been viewed by many in the west as evidence of a failure by Muslims to integrate into western society. By insisting that Muslim women remove their burqa we are forcing them to give up their Muslim identity and to become more westernized. But it is the fabric of our society that ultimately is being torn up by such misguided views 

Jessica Stretch

Some legacy

Mixed media on wood and glass

Some people, some societies, some generations leave a legacy that impacts generations well past their time on Earth. They change the course of history, breaking with tradition and forging a new path. They are remembered for the positive impact they have had. New ideas flower from the seed that is their inspiration.

Our Legacy? - an ever expanding mountain of non bio-degradable rubbish reflecting our obsession with owning the latest technology and consuming the worlds dwindling resources at an ever increasing rate.

Bianca Crisp

Map of my mind

Mixed media – Photography lino Print and Thread Embroidery on Sheer Silk

The forest depicted in this work and trees within it, represent the choices and challenges I face. From some angles you can clearly see through the trees to the light beyond. There is a clear path that could be followed. From other angles the path to the outside is not so apparent. But is the clearest path necessarily the best. This work deals with my personal thoughts and feelings. It symbolizes the process of finding a path through the choices and challenges I face into the light without becoming lost. – It represents a “Map of my Mind”.

Natasha Maher

‘Infinity Series: In the space of a Heartbeat’

Graphite Drawing

“You may think life is sweet now, but when death is a heartbeat away then life becomes unbearably desirable. And when you survive, everything you do will be enhanced and filled with greater joy: the sunlight, the breeze, a good wine, a woman's lips, a child's laughter.”                                                               DAVID GEMMELL

Life (or death) happens in the space of a heartbeat. This work explores the space at the edge of the event horizon of ‘death’. Will the prey be caught by the predator or will something as random as a gust of air waft the moth out of reach and into that space where the next heartbeat continues? Sometimes we use external aids to get what we want and the balloon lifts the fox into the moth’s environment, but all three in this triangle are subject to a random gust of wind. The hunter and the hunted are caught in the moment before we know what happens next.

Matilda Strauss

‘Very Intricate Dream Edition of Sub-consciousness’

Video Installation

Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions and sensations that occur involuntarily in the sub-conscious mind during certain stages of sleep. The video is a series of my recurring dreams. Throughout the duration of the film I tried to eliminate coloured clothing and keep it simple with just white. I chose music that I had a peculiar experience with once where I was laying in bed listening to the particular song only to wake up and find that I dreamt that I was listening to the song the whole time. I also attempted to create a sense of confusion for the viewer, as each time I woke up, I was myself confused.

Adele McAllister

‘Haven’

Installation triptych of glass jars, chest and books.

There are numerous types of vessels that provide sanctuary for beautiful and fragile things that need to be saved and protected. Museums contain the things we hold valuable and display them in glass cabinets and the objects within this work connect to both the elements of Life and to humans. Inspired by the Mexican day of the dead, the largest book shows the coloured eye of a girl as gateway to the soul, yet another beautiful and fragile thing needing to be saved and protected.

Lisa Ernst

Chaotic Reflection 2015

Tea Bags, Twine and lights

My work reflects the chaotic feelings associated with my illness of anxiety and depression. I used tea bags as my material as this is the product that I use to help reflect on the chaos, calm my emotions and hold myself together. The tea effect only lasts so long and I then go back into the chaotic state of mind.

S Austin-Lewis

Female Protection 2015

Aluminum Sheet on a Mannequin

This dress is a representation of women needing to protect themselves against their rights as workers in factories during World War II. The choice of metal is symbolic of armor. The dress is made of aluminum sheets that have been manipulated to form cylinder shapes that represent the shell casings of weapons that women made during World War II. The diamond is a stone of invincibility and is used as a metaphor in the dress to convey how women were perceived. On the contrary, the diamond is a representation of superior strength, fortitude and courage to the wearer; a feeling women should have the right to feel no matter what the era, circumstance or work relation.  

Damien Bigara

Old Ghosts//New Demons

3 x Charcoal and Conte on craft card

2 x Photographs

My artwork titled “Old Ghosts// New Demons” is, in its entirety, based upon personal struggle and its effects on the mind. I have chosen this topic for many reasons. Sometimes in life things happen that are beyond our control, and more often than not, people begin to dwell in their pain rather than facing it head first and moving on. Something's are easier said than done, however. Sometimes it is far more beneficial to conquer your ghosts in order to exorcise your demons.

Chloe Draper

Oblivion

Wearable artwork including full length dress and head piece on a mannequin

Mixed media – fabric, paper, mirror, calico, paint

Our mistakes are what mould us as people. Our responses to the experiences we go through in our lives, determines who we become as human beings. I created this piece of wearable art, not just to show that it’s okay to make mistakes, but that your mistakes  are what can make you all the more beautiful. This work reflects has been created to reflect fragility, vulnerability, love, broken identity and good versus evil.

Cathy Mateariki

Me, Myself, I

6x panels, mixed media on canvas

Tivaevaes are materials that are patched together to make large cloths that are used for special occasions including weddings, boy’s hair cutting ceremonies and funerals. Traditionally, women group together or single-handedly make large tivaevaes to show their love and care for those who receive the gift. It’s very common for tivaevae’s to show patterns of plants and flowers that surround the environment of the Cook Island.

The tivaevae that I used as inspiration for my autobiographical work, was one of my mothers, which has been in my family for a long time.

These works are an insight into my many moods and emotions. Metaphorically, they show that we are all made up of many layers.