London Students Prize 2023

The figure lies back, vulnerable yet strong, proudly displaying objects connecting to his heritage and tribal roots. Uriel chose to explore the connections young people in South East London feel to their ancestry; specifically African heritage and culture, and how this heritage can be a true source of inner strength.

Inspired by Michael Armitage’s ‘Promised Land’ seen at Tate Modern in Capturing the Moment. Examining the predominance of white male dominance in the artworld.

This multi-medium piece comprises of a photographic image transferred onto cotton fabric. The repetitive embroidery is worked into the composition to enhance the sense of movement and rhythm.

The piece depicts a garden garage door caught under a spectrum of light and shadows projected by an oak tree I saw one evening. I was inspired to create the piece as an encapsulation of the moment that I witnessed, the complexity of the nature of light leaving me in awe and the notion of a garden door leading me down a vista of childhood memories. I decided to derive the title of the piece from its dominant shade of colour, a tone I have always read to be a symbolic representation of tranquility and sensitivity, which ultimately aligns with the calming undulation of the shadows of the tree as its branches swayed in the gentle breeze. Despite seeming like a trivial or insignificant instant that one can experience any day, the pacifying and almost dreamy quality of the moment was of great significance to me as it signifies a second of self-reflection – a brief and rare adjourn from the bustling hustle of everyday life, which I deem to be a moment worthy of cherishing.

Through this sequence of images, the viewer gains a third-person perspective of the reality towards the path of self-actualisation – There are moments in time where you feel ‘stuck’, frozen in place, unable to comprehend how the people around you are able to move forwards.

Believe it or not this is the coast of Málaga in Spain, the same one being commercialised as a crystal-clear beach or one not to miss when you go visit. When I arrived, instead of coming to blue waters, a waterscape of greys took over. It was still as beautiful, just unexpected. By painting this sight, I’m hoping to make you realise that the purest beauty is found in those things you don’t expect. The water was freezing.

This work was the result of creating work around the theme of ‘Lock’, from which I created my own prompt, ‘Embrace’. I painted a series of pieces experimenting with this, depicting human figures embracing themselves. I experimented with painting various positions and perspectives to help form ideas. My vision for this final piece was to evoke emotions of peace in loneliness, and a tranquil, dream-like, but vulnerable atmosphere within the painting – hence the softening of colours and avoidance of harsh lines around the subject. My inspiration for this piece came from wanting to portray a feeling of vulnerability that comes from embracing oneself. I used a monochromatic blue colour scheme across many of my pieces leading up to this, and progressed into using multiple colours in one composition, however still keeping in line with the melancholy and calm mood –  reinforced with the use of cool tones in the majority of them. In this painting, I kept to the same idea using a cooler tone of purple in the majority of the background. 

Fashion to me is a non-verbal way of communication that conveys a lot about the person’s personality, background, and style. I learnt that earlier it was exclusively the world of the affluent, celebrities and royalty. However, fashion is now within the reach of the common man, especially the youth. Hence I wanted to explore fashion’s evolution of retro, glamour with contemporary twist.

A young girl picks hare bells amongst swaying marram grass on a windy day.

My biro study is of Natwest Bank A1 Aldersgate Street 1873-74; Architect: Charles Jocelyn Parnell.

A decorative architecture juxtaposed just a stone’s throw away from brutalist Barbican buildings. I migrated to London, the architecture of London fascinates me, and leads me to want to study and learn more about its history and aesthetics. I photographed the building from different angles to understand the building better and I chose this angle for my final piece to challenge myself with a two-dimensional biro drawing of perspective because it’s not possible to leave perspective aside, if we bear in mind that perspective is one of the basic factors in creating three dimensions. This also opens the idea ‘Perspective of the subject determines how it is viewed’. I further wanted to study subject perspective in the interrelation to which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed.

Painting of a person curled up on a sofa, staring dully into the distance. The background is painted in soft colours to create a disconnect from the realistic figure, which was done to isolate the model and put the viewer into the subject’s perspective of emptiness and dissociation from reality. The subject is breaking apart at edges, showing they are slowly fading away and losing their sense of self. This painting also reflects the bore which life around has become for the subject, and how the world around has lost its spark or colour.

Inspired by ‘Predecessors’ by Njideka Akunyili Crosby seen at Capturing the Moment at Tate Modern this work embodies contemporary London domestic life creating an engaging juxtaposition between the humorous chair and the slightly serious pose of the figure. The abstract painting in the background also brings an art historical dimension to the work.

I was born in Afghanistan, and I migrated to London. I travelled around Europe studying the history of architecture and tracing the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. I documented all my findings for my GCSE art thesis.

I wanted capture my document in a form of sculpture representing landscape architecture of all the popular buildings of the world. Sailing is one of my hobbies and I aspire to travel around the world visiting popular destinations indulging in their diversity and culture. This piece is a compostion of my aspiration.

This piece, is inspired by the obsession with appearances found in today’s society. I decided to use realism to convey how this is something that might be found in our everyday lives. The light glowing over the face represents how people tend to make initial judgements based on looks rather than character, leaving our other qualities in the shadows.

Oil pastel self portrait, under plastic wrap. A response to the theme of lock, using plastic wrap to indicate the idea of how fabrics can constrain and physically trap people, but also distort their appearance meaning that a person’s trapped conditions can alter people’s perception of them. It was Inspired by artists such as Francis Bacon, Silas Onoja and Scott Hutchison. Using elements of their practice to inform my own choices in regard to the style of portrait as well as the material that best showed my skill. I used plastic wrap as it created interesting flowing lines and distortions and I chose an image of myself where I look serene and calm despite the wrap covering my face as I felt that it enhanced the ‘creepiness’.

Dancing is a powerful way of healing the mind and body, this is portrayed in this painting. This work includes vibrant colours that reflects and symbolise vivid emotions. This painting creates emotive thoughts towards feminism, inspiring young minds to express themselves, feeling comfort in their own unique mind and body.

In this piece I wanted to explore a particularly current topic: the presentation, and the power of modern media. Through consuming the media in a multitude of different ways, day-to-day, our perspectives on topics and current affairs have a tendency to lean to one side or another, of political divides. Leading us to become stuck in our opinions, which are inevitably a product of how and what, we consume. In this acrylic piece, each colour engulfs its subject entirely, representative of how the ideologies and politics we read about can seep into our identity as individuals. Furthermore, the ease in which we are susceptible to what we read inspired the choice of using primary colours, insead of a more complex colour palette. As the piece presents both young and older generations, it also nods to the complete power of the media no matter who you are. With national and international politics becoming strained as the weeks go on, the idea that we are what we read is more topical than ever, with both left and right political spectrums struggling to find the nuances of their positions.

A self-portrait painting with the figure embracing idealised porcelain miniatures of himself; it represents the precariousness of constructing one’s identity with endless facades, which leads to gradual destruction and disintegration.

In the ‘Wisdom in Wrinkles’, I emphasise the wrinkles of an elderly man, symbolic of the challenges that he has faced. His wispy beard frames his face with authenticity and refinement; a testament to the wisdom he has gained over the years. The project spanned over two months, requiring a high level of precision as I sought to produce the highest level of realism. I sought to begin this project after the passing of my grandmother; which reminded me of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing every moment with those around me.

This piece commemorates the unusual identities that reside on the fringes of society. Individuals, shunned by the plague of social norms and majority influence – yet they’re stories are flavoured with diversity, colour and culture. This is a theatrical composition, highlighting the expression and stance on these hidden individuals, shedding light on these marginalised communities.