We are very proud of our Y13 students for the stunning pieces they designed as part of their IB Visual Arts class, taught by Mrs. Bezançon. Using a wide variety of techniques ranging from oil painting to fashion design, photography, video, and more, they created a selection of singular and personal pieces that is very much worth seeing!
This year, a total of 5 students (4 High Level students and 1 Standard Level student) took the IB Visual Class. Here are a few words on each of their projects:
Zoe B.: “My Hong Kong”
“Having moved to Hong Kong at the age of three months, this city has been my home all my life. While I am originally French and German and have strong connections to those cultures through language, family and traditions, my life in Hong Kong has shaped the person I am today, and my roots will always remain strong here. I have always considered Hong Kong to be an incredibly unique place, perhaps almost magical, with an international history and a rich environmental landscape. To me, Hong Kong is just my home, and MY HONG KONG aims to show that, through different mediums and angles. “
Sasha D.: Vanity
“Growing up in the ‘Digital Age’ I have noticed how self-absorbed we are as a generation – as if being vain has become a trend. Living in a world of mobile phones, selfies and social media appearances seem to always be important and are frequently obsessed over. Creating and curating this exhibition under the theme Vanity has allowed me to step back from what my generation considers normal – the constant pressure to be confident and look good – and analyse and criticise what we as a society have come to. “
Jenny K.: Chagrin
“What comes to mind when you see the word “Chagrined”? This particular emotion in question is the core of this exhibition. Chagrin as an emotion embodies distress or humiliation, especially as a result of a failure. Universally speaking, the feeling of chagrin is experienced by all humans, be it personal or perhaps on a societal level and appears in many situations we will inevitably encounter. With this, I have attempted to depict it in different forms and tackle its various manifestations while adding my own twist to it. There are numerous pieces that are shown here which speak true from personal experiences of my own and show the cultivation and development of my intuitive response to a certain stimulus.”
Adrian Y.: Time
“Influenced by the perpetual transformation of Hong Kong, I was inspired to symbolically capture its rapid modernisation and fading culture. From Hong Kong’s changing environment, I was especially drawn to its fast urbanisation and constant redevelopments, both of which involve the demolition or renovation of old buildings and establishments that once defined this city, eliminating the embodied culture along with it. It seemed to me that there is
conflict between the old and the new and with the city and nature, leading to a disintegration of the accepted norms in recent times. “
Agnes S.: Injustices
“Inspired by Albert Einstein’s quote, “The world will not be destroyed by those doing evil, but by those not doing anything” , my exhibition stemmed from my frustrations of the injustices resulted by human selfishness and the lack of attention to its consequences. I aim to convey its domino-effect, where each piece acts as the causation for the next; each an injustice caused by human selfishness.”
We applaud the creativity of their work and their dedication to complete such an ambitious project!
The final word goes to Sasha D. (also Head of Couture 2019), who shares her take on this class:
“The IB visual arts exhibition is an event that I always looked forward to seeing when I was younger, and this year, as an IBVA student, it was finally my turn to showcase my work.
My class and I have been working towards this exhibition for the past two years, and whilst we understand that due to the current COVID 19 situation, it must be cancelled, we are still disappointed.
However, we were still lucky enough to display our work at school, so I am happy to be able to present a virtual exhibition. Hopefully our art can help you get through this uncertain time!
Although it’s not how I envisioned, seeing all my work come together is extremely fulfilling.
The IB visual arts course is incredibly hard work, but also gives you the flexibility to explore anything you want, which I hadn’t experienced before.
For me I was able to focus on fashion design, as next year I will be studying a fashion foundation course at London College of Fashion.
Overall this course was very rewarding, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering taking it. ”