Visual Arts

VCE Season of Excellence 2024: Top Arts

Congratulations to Gwyneth op't Hoog, Julia Wang, and Alex Saveski, whose artworks have been selected to be exhibited in the Top Arts Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Top Arts 2024 showcases outstanding work from students who completed the new VCE study designs of Art Making and Exhibiting and Art Creative Practice in 2023. Gwyneth, Julia, and Alex are among the 40 artists chosen from 1400 applicants across Victoria to participate in the exhibition. 

Gwyneth op't Hoog's acrylic painting series, "A Sleeping Venus," challenges the historical portrayal of women in portraiture. Through powerful self-portraits, she subverts the traditional reclining nude, questioning the dynamics between the female subject and the male voyeur, creating a disquieting yet thought-provoking narrative. 

Julia Wang's oil painting, "In an Ancient Forest of Hundred-Year-Old Trees, You Are an Unrooted Sprout," serves as an ode to the struggle of self-discovery in a fast-paced, globalized society. Exploring themes of cultural heritage, immigration, and identity, Julia's work resonates symbolically, inviting viewers into the inner realms of the central figure. 

Alex Saveski's latex sculpture, "Primitive Skin," physically represents the abstract and fragmented inner journey toward establishing an adult identity. With delicately "tattooed" designs representing memories of a former identity, Alex explores the complexities of evolving and dissolving identity through life's metamorphoses. 

The Top Arts exhibition opens for viewing on March 14 at NGV Australia, Ground Level, NGV Design Studio. I encourage the Melbourne Girls' College Community to support Gwyneth, Julia, and Alex by viewing their remarkable work and voting for the People's Choice Award at the exhibition. 

Harriet Turnbull  

Visual Arts Leader