We are very proud of all the work that our Year 13 students have produced and showcased in their end of year Art Exhibition. With work from A Levels in Fine Art, Photography, Resistant Materials, Graphics and Art, Craft & Design, we are sure you will agree that the quality is outstanding. Scroll down to meet some of the students and learn about their work in more detail. You can click on any of the images to enlarge them.
Danielle Bales – Fine Art – Psychological Disorder
My Personal Investigation was a mix of psychological disorder in art and layering. I looked into this as it really interests me how people can portray their emotions into their work. My main inspiration was Jean Michel Basquiat, his life story was tragic and his work displays this throughout. I would love to look into forensic psychology later on as I have studied psychology for A-level. Layering is a technique that can be used in many ways and I enjoyed using it, working with different ways to interpret this within my work.
Grace Nelson – Fine Art – Consumer Culture
I delved into the theme of Consumer Culture because it is an understated issue in society. Fast fashion and waste cause negative environmental and social issues which I have displayed in my art work satirically. The vibrancy of colour and pattern in my final piece shows how identity can be found and created outside of consumer trends. I explored a path of ‘sustainable maximalism’, as opposed to fast fashion trends, and these outfits inspired the designs of my artwork; across myself and painted ‘tapestrys’ are the same patterns and colours, showing the vibrancy and connection between us. My gaudy and exciting personality comes through into my work so that I am one with my environment. Although I am going to do an English/History Combined degree at Newcastle University, I have learnt a lot about myself through this abstract work of pattern and colour. I believe I have a much deeper understanding of the issues of consumer culture in relation to social and personal identity.
Shona Gregory – Fine Art – Entertainment
The theme of my exam was entertainment. I began with a broad overview of the obvious types of entertainment including sports, music and amusements. Through reflection of my personal upbringing, I decided to narrow the theme down to board games. My family and I have, and still do, enjoy playing board games together, as a way of bonding without digital distraction. I have created two pieces based on this notion. Central to these is a third piece, which is indicative of the type of entertainment that can be enjoyed when you grow up – a casino environment.
Shona Gregory – Fine Art – Childhood
The overall theme of my Personal Investigation is childhood, ultimately the focus being on teenage years, I could therefore relate to it on a first hand and personal basis. My project is intended to reflect the inside feelings of teenagers and their lives at the awkward stages before adulthood. I believe being a teenager, especially 15 years and older, is a confusing stage of life. I hope my art effectively portrays teenagers who are transitioning between being a child, whilst facing growing stress and pressure as they near adulthood.
Angelika Jarzynska – Graphic Design – A Ticket to a Summer’s Day
This was a very personal project for me, beginning with the prompt ‘Ephemera’, which refers to things that are meant to be enjoyed over a short period of time. This immediately made me think of my time with my grandparents, visiting them in Poland, so this project is based on how magical and precious that time is, and has been throughout my childhood. The piece is divided into two distinct styles. The comic pages represent the present day, coloured in muted blues to reflect the mundane reality we often feel like we live in: structured, flat and dull. Directors like Wes Anderson’s unique approach to symmetry and formalism helped influence the flat storybook look. This contrasts with the rich hues and textures of the ephemera world, recalling and blending past events in a loose free flowing way. One of my main aims was to present the ephemera world through the lens of what it felt like, rather than how it actually was. This let me push my use of typography, composition, and collage in more expressive and innovative ways. Working more with photography and physical materials pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me achieve fun, unexpected results in the final zine. While there were many revisions and changes throughout the process, it was all worth it for the final outcome!
Angelika Jarzynska – Graphic Design – Wildflower
This is a Graphic Design investigation into creating a marketing campaign around an animated movie: Wildflower. The film is about a girl and her plant living in an alien planet city, in which the girl desperately wants to stop in the plant from growing into a pink plant, like the flora of this overgrown city. However, once the plant starts wilting, she realises that she needs to let the plant grow and become its own being, with the movie finishing as the plant has grown into a big blue tree, taking elements of its little green career and its pink surrounding with it. I am constantly inspired by the wildlife surrounding us, so I wanted to explore how I could use this imagery as a vessel for storytelling and communication with my audience. I drew deep inspiration from Japanese anime, as well as animation that challenges the medium’s boundaries, such as ‘Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse’. Beyond this, my aim was to explore a variety of materials and software to complete my vision, from Photoshop, Premier Pro and Blender to lino prints, alcohol markers, coloured pencils, and watercolours. My investigation encompasses a triptych of promotional posters, an animated trailer, and a collection of merchandising for the movie, presented on a website. This project is a personal statement of my creative expression and is a reminder of my ambition to work in the animation industry.
Lewis Stone – Graphic Design – Sports Marketing Campaign
The design board I have developed presents the finest work from my coursework. The theme for these pieces are dedicated to sport, as it has always been an important aspect of my life. As a sports fan, the idea of hosting an event has driven me towards producing a sports marketing campaign, one which breaks the mould we regularly see in today’s campaign strategies. I began by forming an event idea which hosted multiple sports , as this would allow me to create a variety of pieces. I settled on football, rugby, boxing, and american football, all high intensity sports. I then developed my skills in motion-blur photography techniques to create powerful visuals for design. Basketball has always been one of my passions in sport, so I developed a website, solely based on this. The origins of basketball come from a sport named streetball, therefore I wanted my visual art to eb linked to this. I aimed to create pieces which expressed street art. The final piece has a strong presence of bold colours, and an energetic spirit.
Huey Stibbon – Art, Craft and Design – Family
I delved into the theme of family for my Personal investigation, because this is the one constant in my life which I can draw lots if inspiration and deep meaning from. I began my work focusing on the relationship I have with my Mum, in particular how she has cared for me as a child, and interestingly now that I am older, our roles are beginning to reverse. I then chose to look at my Dad and my younger brother, and what roles they fulfil in the family unit. Using my interest in comics, I retold the story of how these family members are my superheroes, and the protection that they constantly offer me. As a family who bond through outdoor activities, in particular walking our family pets, I used this idea to further my artwork, concluding with imagery which conveys the options of an outdoor environment and those special times it grants us.
Huey Stibbon – Art, Craft and Design – Old Technologies
I decided to focus on how old technologies are being kept and displayed for future generations to see. My idea was to advertise an exhibition for the Norwich Castle Museum based on pieces that were on display at the museum. I created 4 posters and a leaflet, with the cover being made using artwork I created in the style of my three research artists. I chose to do 4 posters and a leaflet to explore different mediums of advertising. I then superimposed these pieces onto primary and secondary photos. My leaflet was my favourite piece to create, as the 4 sections of the cover all join together to create the Norwich Castle logo.
Lewis Stone – Photography – Patterns in Nature
This photographic investigation is based on my personal experience of the rapid decline within the natural environment. The imagery and videography I have chosen to display is from a variety of settings which highlight a natural and glorious Earth. I began by exploring Earth’s most precious component – water. North Norfolk is very well known for its incredible coastline, visiting this gave me ample opportunity to capture photographs which I would hope will encourage my audience into being more eco-friendly. I used my skills in videography to compile my strongest photographs, along with music, to create a digital viewing experience. Inspired by David Attenborough’s statement “In our hands now lies not only our own future but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the earth” gave me a focus to capture Earth’s wildlife. During dark and cold months was challenging to photograph in, however, I succeeded in capturing the delicate patterns of amazing spider webs. My professionally produced book on plant life is my proudest achievement during my A-Level studies. It is filled with a glorious selection of beautiful and vibrant flora which has been shot with strong composition and shallow depth of field. Perhaps in the future I could publish this book with the aim of promoting a sustainable future.
Kat Lacey – Photography – Family Connections to the 90’s
My Personal Investigation is based heavily upon the 90’s decade. I have also connected this pathway to my parents, who I have a strong bond with and who grew up in the 90’s. Through research, I used post-production to portray the feelings and emotions which my parents fondly remember of their time in that era. My first pathway is based on the 90’s youth and I have portrayed this through the use of mixed media. My goal for this pathway is to allow the viewer to understand my interpretation of the 90’s, as told to me by my parents. My second pathway is a vast contrast to what I have previously produced, as I’ve focussed my attention on the grunge scene; linking it to the music of the 90’s. Grunge is the genre my parents favoured, and I have recreated looks from iconic music videos to portray this. My third and final pathway is loosely connected to my parents, but still largely relevant to the 90’s when runway fashion and studio lighting was making an impact. I successfully created crisp, clean photographs in response to my parents’ stories of fashion being an important and significant aspect to their upbringing.
Kat Lacey – Photography – Transport
A long awaited, exciting trip to the United States in February 2023, with College and friends, was an ideal photographic opportunity to work on my new project titled ‘Transport’. I hadn’t covered or experimented with this topic before, therefore I began by researching different meanings of transport and ways it can connect to contrasting objects and concepts. I also researched various photographers to help me understand the style of photography I wanted to achieve. I was delighted when Larry Potter, a photographer I had reached out to, had responded, giving me great insight into how his mind works when he’s in the process of creating his beautiful photographs. I reflected on his words whilst creating my own pieces which I think has charged my imagery with feeling and meaning. The trip has allowed me to touch upon contrasting ideas of ‘Transport’, which can be seen within my final triptych. Leading lines that form the towering architecture, coupled with the stillness of unplanned bodies, gives a wider and deeper understanding of my theme, Using the effect of a photojoiner has allowed me to produce abstract pieces which brilliantly convey many insights of the theme ‘Transport’.
Norfolk Art & Design Competition 2023
Shona Gregory’s The Game of Life has been shortlisted in this year’s competition.
Norfolk Art & Design Competition 2023
Grace Nelson’s Pattern of Personality has been shortlisted in this year’s competition.
