Senior School 

Year 11 Visual Arts Residency

Alongside Visual Arts teachers Ms Adriana Bakija and Mr Anthony Porra, Year 11 Visual Arts students undertook a residency at the Visual Arts Centre, Bundanon, located in Illaroo on the South Coast of NSW. 

Over the course of the three-day residency, students were deeply immersed in the picturesque landscape of Bundanon, located on the cusp of the Shoalhaven River. The location was once the home of the famous Australian artists Arthur and Yvonne Boyd. The Boyds moved into the region after visiting other artist friends there. They were inspired and moved by the beauty of the landscape and often allowed their subject matter to be informed by the location. Since Arthur’s passing in 1999, the land has been gifted back to the Nation and the Bundanon Trust was formed. The aim of the Trust is to foster Boyd’s legacy as one of Australia’s most prominent artists and to educate and promote the arts and art practice to visitors.  

Inspired by the land as our subject matter, students followed in the footsteps of Boyd and created a range of artworks within a variety of expressive forms and new mediums. Across the three days, students worked in creating an impressionist painting of the Shoalhaven River ‘en plein air’ (in the open air), printmaking and collaging, eco-dying, expressive drawing with charcoal, photography workshops and sculpture, to name a few. Each of the activities sought inspiration directly from the land, which allowed students to truly experience the working actions and processes that artists take. Through this time, students developed a deep relationship between themselves and the environment/land that has long been a source of inspiration for artists. The residency offered students the unique opportunity to remove themselves from the confines of the classroom and the chaos of the city, allowing them to truly consider nature as a source of inspiration, material resource and subject matter.

Adriana Bakija

Visual Arts Teacher

"Studying the artist Arthur Boyd has allowed me to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Australian landscape and vibrancy of colour found within. I found that working in the outdoors, I learnt to appreciate the process rather than the result." - Patrick Ryan