Artist - Beth McNaughton — 'Colourful Footprints' was inspired by artist Gerhard Richter and his smudge techniques and the artist's favourite quote from the film 'Wonder', "I usually look down. You can learn a lot about people from their shoes." The different colours represent individuality, displaying personality without using faces.
HGHS Visual Artists exhibit alongside professional artists
Margot Rawlings — March 10, 2022
Hamilton Girls' High School students will be exhibiting ten paintings and ten photographs in the Welcome Swallow Gallery’s exhibition ‘Still Slices of Life’ from 11 March until the end of April.
Early in 2021 the Welcome Swallow Gallery held a competition for schools, entitled "The Artful Four: 40 Shots". It was designed to establish a platform for young artists to present their work for the wider public to see and appreciate. HGHS was a significant contributor to this exhibition. The success of "The Artful Four" encouraged the Gallery to invite HGHS to exhibit again in 2022.
There are 20 artworks in total, ten paintings and ten photographs. “The paintings use watercolours, acrylics, pastels and mixed media to present a range of evocative, powerful portraiture styles, from monochrome to contemporary. There are compositions that straddle the boundaries of geometric, figurative, expressionism and surreal art. What is abundantly clear is the wealth of young talent that bodes well for the future of the local art community,” according to the Welcome Swallow Gallery exhibit programme.
“This is the first time that the Welcome Swallow Gallery has been able to present art photography. Photography in its modern form incorporates the technological ability to manipulate imagery in favour of greater expression and interpretation beyond documenting moments in time.”
“We are very grateful that the Swallow Gallery has provided this opportunity for our girls. The real world experience of exhibiting in a gallery, with price tags on their pieces, is invaluable. An exhibition gives artists a chance to learn what the world thinks about their art. They will learn to use this feedback and continue to shape their future creativity. Without the Gallery’s initiative our girls might not have had that learning so early in their life,” explains Jenniffer Fernyhough, Head of Department Visual Arts at HGHS.
The exhibition runs from 11 March to 29 April at the Welcome Swallow Gallery in Grey Street, Hamilton East. The exhibiting artists include past and present HGHS students Bianca Lei, Emily Tusa, Karis McInally, Kashmita Krishna, Katie Forbes, Lily Anderson, Monique Le Brocq, Sarah Abdi, Tierney Tremewan, Trishalini Naidu, Amarah Duncan, Beth McNaughton, Emma James, Grace Moffitt, Johanna Vreede, Kiera Sullivan and Lucy Downing.
