Trinity talent on display

Trinity Students often get the privilege of exploring the works of renowned artists in the Delmar Gallery but for Year 12 Visual Arts students, there’s an exciting opportunity to see their own work on the walls.

The Year 12 Visual Arts Exhibition, held in August 2023, incorporated work from both the HSC and IB credentials, giving every student in their final year of Trinity a chance to see their work on the walls. After working for most of the year on their pieces, it’s an opportunity that they are all eager to be a part of as they tell the stories behind their pieces.

The 2023 cohort explored innovative tools and practices, looking beyond a single medium and taking an integrated approach to their work. Tim B, and his work celebrating the endangered Regent Honeyeater and its habitat is a great example of this approach.

“The original idea was just to have the drawings – those kept changing as things came up and so now it’s two big birds. But I’ve also got all this photography to go along with it, which wasn’t necessarily planned, but it’s there now!”

For Tim, this project was a prime example of why he chose to do Visual Arts as a Senior subject, with the experience living up to his expectations.

“I get to draw, take photos, do things I like doing, but also figure out new ways to show those things and represent them, and have an idea behind it instead of having a drawing,” he says. “It’s been everything I really wanted to do.”

For Alex K, having his work in the Delmar Gallery was particularly exciting, as his immersive, five-panel oil painting explored art movements throughout time and cultures, with a particular focus on the Art Gallery of New South Wales. He says having his work in the gallery adds another layer of immersion.

“It’s been a really incredible experience working on this for almost the past year and it’s really amazing to see this in a gallery setting,” he says.

It’s a sentiment that was echoed by all the students. It’s clear that the experience – and the collaborative nature of helping one another set up their work – had a huge impact on them.

“It’s so awesome to see your works go from a little sketch, or even printed off on the table, and you can’t really see the vision, but when you put it up on the wall, get the lights on, and have it all together … it just looks so professional,” Miles A says. “It makes you feel like a real artist; I really feel like my works make sense on the wall.

“It’s been a completely collaborative process; I’ve done nothing by myself,” he says of setting up his work at The Delmar Gallery. “I feel that it’s helped develop my concepts a lot and my curatorial concepts, because some of these ideas I would never have thought of just by myself.”

The effort put in by the students was clear, as was the pride on the night, Ms Nicole DeLosa (Head of Faculty – Visual Arts) says.

“We were thrilled that there were so many friends and parents of the students present – there was an increase in numbers this year and even Art teachers from other schools were interested in our exhibition.”

She says that Trinity has a distinct approach to Visual Arts and an exhibition like this is the direct result of that approach.

“The student voice is unique. We really want to honour the intentions of the students, which is not necessarily something that all schools are doing. Often, the mark is most important. While we care about their results, we care more about them having that agency in their own work.”

Many of the students cited that their interest in Art grew from a desire to have a change of pace from other subjects considered, perhaps, more ‘academic’ and, while Ms De Losa says that Creative Arts will deliver on the change of pace, it’s not for those looking for a cruisy way through their final year.

“Every subject has stress involved,” she says. “But good planning and support can help to alleviate it.”

In a post shared on Trinity’s internal communications platform, InSite, Ms Deborah Williams (Deputy Headmaster – Academic) acknowledged the achievements of all the students contributing to the exhibition.

“Achieving a secondary credential is certainly hard work and demands personal commitment,” she wrote. “Yet, it should also bring joy and satisfaction … I have seen that studying a creative art is absolutely an avenue for shared joy and learning excellence. There is something courageous about forming, developing, and realising an idea in creative form, and something amazing about offering an actual product, an artefact of your own dreaming, for others’ experience.”

This article originally appeared in our December 2023 Edition of Trinity News which you can view on our online digital bookshelf.