22 Mar 2023
The annual Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) Creative Arts Exhibition included artworks by several senior Loreto Toorak Visual Arts students. The Exhibition showcases the creativity of students in the Archdiocese of Melbourne across various disciplines, including painting, photography, sculpture, fashion, and film. The exhibition was one of many activities that took place as part of Catholic Education Week.
From left to right: Current Year 12 students Jemima, Jorja, Scarlett, and Annick had their artworks selected for the Exhibition.
(Amelia also had her artwork exhibited but was absent as she graduated in 2022.)
Amelia A (Year 12 2022)
Title: Nature’s Dismay
Medium: Digital Ink Jet Print
Dimensions: 100cm x 45cm
In my artwork ‘Nature’s Dismay’ I created a panoramic image communicating the effects mankind has on the natural world. This image was constructed from numerous photographs layered and superimposed together using Photoshop. It represents the destruction caused by humans, as the bird is captured facing the camera, to communicate the distress caused by humans for their destruction of their natural habitat.
Annick E (Year 11 2022)
Title: The Language of Flowers
Medium: Acrylic and oil on canvas
Size: 120cm x 60cm
My work ‘The Language of Flowers’ explores the prevalent issue of gender expectations and their normalisation within society. Upon first glance, the piece appears to be an innocent depiction of a girl and a flower, however it serves a greater purpose in addressing the damaging nature of feminine ideals. The pink orchid is a common symbol for femininity, and intends to represent society’s obscured and unrealistic view on femininity that is enforced upon girls, which looms over them, and influences their perception of what it means to be a woman.
Jemima M (Year 11 2022)
Title: When did this happen?
Medium: pen on paper
Size: 137cm x 90cm
This work was inspired by the irreversible effects of time on physical appearance and explores the way in which skin can reflect the depth of human experience. By using pen as my chosen medium, it suggests the idea of time as irreversible and unchanging, in similar way that you can’t undo a line or stroke. I was inspired by my own feeling of ageing and growing out of childhood as I head towards the unknown of self-exploration.
Jemima was awarded the Highly Commended Prize at the MACS Creative Arts Exhibition.
Jorja K (Year 11 2022)
Title: The Stages
Medium: Pan Pastel and Graphite on Paper
Size: 78cm x 118cm
‘The Stages’ follows the cultural and contemporary ideas of the 5 stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. This work references the way in which facial expression can symbolically display the stages individuals go through during a period of grief, regardless of what it is a person is grieving. Despite chronologically set out as mentioned above, the ‘stages’ can be experienced in any order. This work was inspired by my own experiences with these emotions when grieving the loss of people significant to me as well as my ongoing fascination with the concept.
Jorja was presented with the People’s Choice Award for this artwork at the MACS Creative Arts Exhibition.
Scarlett P (Year 11 2022)
Title: Cause and Effect
Medium: Acrylic and oil paint on canvas
Dimension: 122cm x 92cm
My concern about environmental issues has inspired an imaginative narrative is conveyed through this painting. I have created a story about a murder of cherished, childhood character Ponyo the fish. The work depicts the documents and files that would be seen on a detective’s desk while searching for a criminal. Two suspects are presented, Shoyu-tai, the soy sauce fish who is suspected of choking Ponyo, and lucky cat, suspected to be responsible for Ponyo’s death through an oil spill caused by ships loaded with these figurines. These suspects convey the detrimental effects that both pollution in our oceans and mass production can cause to our beloved sea life. Behind this one murder case, alarming news articles are swept under the rug, highlighting the way in which society can become consumed in drama rather than the major world issues such as climate change that is slowly destroying our planet.