VISUAL ARTS

YEAR 9 EXCURSION TO THE NGV: AUSTRALIAN IDENTITY & CULTURE

On Thursday 12 October, the Year 9 Art students travelled by train to the National Gallery of Victoria in Federation Square. We began the day with a guided tour of the gallery to explore how Australian identity and culture has developed over time and from different perspectives.

The first artwork we analysed during the tour was Ngayartu Kujarra (2009). This immense artwork, painted by thirteen Martu women, depicts Lake Dora, a warla (salt lake), in the centre of the canvas. Surrounding the border are twenty-nine vibrant cobalt blue circles, each of which have been named after different waterholes in the East Pilbara Region. The artists worked collaboratively for seven days, singing while they painted. On the last day, the canvas was placed on the dried crystalline surface of Lake Dora where the Punmu community admired it, sang and danced.

Another artwork we discussed was The Pioneer (1904) by Frederick McCubbin. At first glance we didn't realise that this artwork had been broken up into three different sections, however, after further examination, we realised each section was broken according to time. The artwork explores the life of a pioneer and shows us how time passes and how the world around us changes with time.

We discussed the considerations involved in exhibiting artworks, including wall colour, positioning of artworks and lighting, when we entered a space featuring a series of nineteenth-century shields by Australia’s First Nations peoples and Tom Roberts’ Shearing the rams (1890). It was interesting to see how the curators used the space to give voice to those who were not included in Roberts’ iconic artwork. This complemented our Artist Retrospective unit, in which we take on the role of a curator and host our own exhibitions at the East Campus.

Following the guided tours, we ate lunch in Federation Square before returning to the gallery. This time we were able to explore the different exhibitions in small groups and enjoy all the beautiful artwork that was on display. 

Overall, this excursion was both enjoyable and informative and we truly enjoyed this experience!

Maleesha Dharmadasa 9F, Mia McMahon 9G & Anastasia Turner 9L

YEAR 8 KUMMARGEE DESIGN CHALLENGE

Year 8 students taking Visual Communication Design in Semester 2 have been working on some impressive t-shirt designs for the Kummargee Challenge. These creations are surely going to challenge the ones from Semester 1! Students used digital applications like Procreate and Adobe Photoshop Beta to refine their artworks based on Australian flora and fauna and inspired by First Nations artists. The best design from all Year 8 students will be the winner of this creative competition and will get their design printed on t-shirts for their own form group.

Below, some of our talented Year 8 students share their thoughts about their experience in this assignment.

Maria Garcia

Visual Arts Teacher

The Kummargee Challenge Shirt design was one of the most spectacular and fun projects we got to do this year. The activity was very enjoyable as we got the opportunity to research about some of the native flora and fauna in Australia as well as some of the cultural aspects of the First Nations’ people. The process of creating our final design in Procreate was the most challenging but also the most enjoyable. We got to explore the different brushes, textures, colours and many more tools that we could use in our designs. Overall, it was exciting and amusing to view my peer’s artworks and it was a very enjoyable experience. 

Jinia Ganguly 8Q

The Kummargee T-shirt design challenge was an enriching experience where we were able to learn to use Procreate to create our own First Nations-inspired T-shirt designs. It was a fantastic opportunity for students who are new to Digital Art and for those with prior experience, to extend themselves and create their own creative art pieces. We used the Principles of Element and Design that we had previously learnt in early term 3, as well as researched local Australian flora and fauna to include in our designs. Overall, the Kummargee T-shirt challenge was a memorable and exciting experience. 

Isaak Lim 8Q

This semester, Visual Communication Design has been extremely enjoyable and interesting to explore. One of the main activities we have been working on was the KUMMARGEE Design Challenge, which taught us some state-of-the-art skills on how to work digitally using Procreate. We also had to use our imagination to create a unique and eye-catching design, using inspiration from indigenous flora and fauna, to put on a t-shirt to represent our class. On the whole, working on this project has been a delight and was very enjoyable to create and present to my peers. 

Lian Peress 8Q