Isle of Man Students Prize 2024

I wanted to convey a piece which shows the idea of feeling lost in an environment that now feels empty to you, the uncertainty of what to do after you leave something behind that you thought or was previously a comforting space in your life and now your stuck without anything to depend on, To create the desolate background, a blank monochrome blanket to cover the whole canvas and with a bold portrait of me in the middle.

I like fish and the sea and wanted to capture a fun moment with my friends catching a fish on the isle of man.

I produced this painting as I was inspired by a very candid photograph that I took of my mum, with her eyes closed in almost hysterical laughter. Such moments of absolute joy are precious but fleeting. To be fortunate enough to capture them in a photograph is rare. So to then take the time to study and paint them, increase them in size and impact and allow the viewer to pause and really look at what the face is doing and how we read this, can give them a whole new meaning.

Seven separated montages of my family taken throughout different times of day throughout the week. Yet always within the same room where the family comes together to destress and relax from the outside world. The living room. Each fragment represents a different day of the week. Sunday, where other family members such as my grandfather and uncle come over to watch a rugby game on TV, Saturday where there is a break from to work to deep clean the house, to the weekdays where all one desires is to relax and rest – via reading articles together on a tablet to watching a movie in the lounge. Painted with such colours to not only to better separate every moment but represent the recurring colours I took in every photo for my piece. All encompassing my living room. Including the brown hued beams atop my fireplace to the grey’s of the sofa. All but making a mundane topic of life in the comfort of a shared space, all with a duller colour scheme. Yet making my piece of monotony, interesting.

Garment inspired by natural structures.

Garment inspired by the natural world.

This piece is an A2 acrylic study of a photograph I found of my grandparents in Greece. The inspiration for this piece came from wanting to immortalise a memory and to capture the spirit of my grandparents in their favourite place, where it is unfortunately unlikely that they will ever be able to visit again. This piece also serves as a thank you to my Grandad, who has been, and will continue to be, a great artistic inspiration for me. What makes this piece even more personal is that I created it outside of school, which allowed me to paint it entirely in my own style without having to demonstrate how my art related to the work of another artist.

PERFORMACE

recording my travels

Developing my self-embrace motif into a cast, I explore self-love and learning to trust myself again. The simplicity of the stark white piece, consisting of a naked torso only covered by a bedsheet, emphasises the vulnerability and emotion of building this relationship with myself again. Inspired by Michelangelo’s marble statues, the simple beauty of the human body shown expresses the innocence, nostalgia and intimacy I feel. Modelled on a close friend, a gentle, loving atmosphere is created.

Portrait taken to answer exam question on hands, I wanted Kayla to frame her own face using her hands.

The painting on board portrays a person’s face and I have captured the intricate details, from the subtle contours of the cheeks to the expressive eyes that seem to tell a story. The play of light and shadow adds depth and dimension, bringing the portrait to life. The delicate brushstrokes and the choice of colours enhance the overall emotion and character, making the viewer feel a deep connection with the subject.

This piece is inspired by the work of Cristina Troufa, who uses negative space to draw focus to the subject of the piece. Through my piece, I wanted to convey how people can easily close themselves off from the world physically, yet remain open to each other emotionally and to the human experience of feeling anything. The vivid colours in place of skin tone represent those undefinable feelings that are present in mundane moments of life – like a conversation or changing the water for a vase of flowers.

This is a representation of how I feel the moonlight highlights the mountains and captures the depth of the natural formations.

A portrait inspired by the photographer Mana Morimoto

Sleep Tight is based on an image from the 2023 film, The Wonder. The piece is meant to represent the desire to rest amidst fluidity and movement in daily life. I used deep, cool-grey tones, almost the same colour as stone, for the skin of the figure, alluding to her sense of “stillness.” Conversely, a multitude of blue tones surround her- this is meant to capture the eye of the viewer- almost as if the fabrics and tones are popping out against this solid, grey figure.

This piece of art is about the journey of life with everyone choosing their own ways to triumph. I considered how within the labyrinth everyone is trying to fight their way through it in hopes of rewriting history. In the Isle of Man TT racers risk their lives to win and out race the past. The helmet holds the past and the present captured in the race to survive.

In this very personal piece I wanted to use the idea of metaphors to create a painting that contained a very personal message. This piece contains many metaphors using objects such as a palm, candles, and the number six. Each item relates to a general metaphor or symbol that has been used in art historically but I have combined them in my own way to create my own narrative. A palm is a universal symbol of peace, Candles have historically been a depiction and metaphor for the passage of time, also within this composition there are six candles which relate to Pythagoreans “number symbolism”, Pythagoras believed each number was deeply significant to the understanding and making of the world. The number six was a corresponding symbol of beauty. Each item in this piece ( the hand, and six candles) comes together to create a much larger metaphor relating to my personal fear about the passage of time and the constant worry that time is running out. . My piece conveys the idea of coming to peace (the palm) with the passage of time, and accepting that growing up and becoming an adult is inevitable and actually, something to be embraced.

MIXED MEDIA TEXTILE ART WORK

investigating portraits

Mixed Media Sea Sunset from the Isle of Man