St Christopher’s 2014 Art Exhibition opened its doors today to the public, shining a light on the artistic works of the GCSE, A-Level and IB students at the senior school campus in Isa Town.


The annual event, which attracts hundreds of art aficionados each year, celebrates the youngsters’ hard work, creativity and development throughout the course by putting their colourful canvases and sculptures on display for other students and family members to admire.
While St Christopher’s head of art, Paula Carr, finds the exhibition smaller than past events, she believes it still rises to the occasion in mark-making, risk-taking and creative-thinking.
Miss Carr said: “We are really happy with the quality that has been produced and the diversity of the work. I think in previous exhibitions the work had a tendency to be quite dark but those themes did not come through this time around. It’s less controversial in subject matter but with more risks in techniques.
“There is also a lot more colour and I believe it will be well-received by the public and other people within the school. We always get a really positive response.
“It’s lovely to see the family getting photographs taken around the boards with the kids, beaming proudly. It’s fantastic.”
The exhibition features the students’ course work along with the examination work which is themed ‘Growth and Evolution’. The students are expected to develop their creative and technical skills to communicate imaginative and original thoughts, feelings and opinions. The examination course encourages students to become visually literate and to evaluate their own work as well as the work of historical and contemporary artists.
Miss Carr said: “I am very proud of all the students who have worked immensely hard. This is their opportunity to shine. To see their art work in its entirety will give strength to the themes that they worked on.
“I also want to thank my colleagues Ben Faux and Joe Mulleague who have tirelessly guided and encouraged the students through the demands of the course as well as to our art technician Beatriz Martinez de la Hoz.”
The brightly lit classroom has been transformed into a spacious art gallery featuring touches of oil, acrylic and other mixed-mediums on every wall.
Guests will be able to weave through hanging sculptures while enjoying the expressive canvases.
For students such as Amal Ahmed, 17, and Sarah Khamis-Carson, 18, this will be their last exhibit before heading to university.
Sarah will be majoring in law but plans to continue with her art. Sarah said: “This course work has really helped me express myself because to begin with my work was not that structured. As I became more confident I began to use bigger material and mediums and became looser with my art.”
In her course work, Sacred Places, Sarah was influenced by artists such as William Turner, Mark Rothko and John Piper. For her examination work, she chose the topic ‘Organisms’ which allowed her to experiment in a more abstract way and develop her confidence.
Sarah said: “My course work is all about spirituality and where I have been. When I went to England on holiday I visited Stonehenge and learned about its background. I decided to paint my experience there but changed the colours of the background to make it more spiritual with sepia tones.
“My cathedral painting as well is dark in the back and light in the front to give a different perspective. I didn’t want it too structured. The statue painting features a lot of glue and emulsion that cracked naturally and then I emphasised the cracks with paint. I wanted a serene look to it.
“For my examination work, I focused on organisms such as fungus and its growth to go with the theme. The criterion is to experiment and the teachers encourage us to go with it.”
Her classmate Amal also found A-Level art to being rewarding. She will be taking Foundation Arts at university with the aim of moving into fine art, specifically painting. For her course work, she was inspired by artists such as Franz Kline, Mark Roscoe and Cy Twombly. For her examination topic, Frank Auerbach played an influential role.
Amal said: “My course work topic was ‘Habitual and Reoccurring’ which meant that I photographed lots of reoccurring objects in my home such as up close shots of tin foil, potpourri, and mesh chairs but from an abstract perspective. 
“Since I had done such an abstract topic for my course work I wanted to focus on something related to structure and form for my examination unit.
“I have never done portraiture so I experimented with that. It was really fun to go out of my comfort zone and really do something that I have never done before especially for the exam. It was a risk but I think it worked out. I still made sure to keep my style in there.”
A private viewing was held for parents and friends last night. The exhibition is open to the public all day today and tomorrow, on Sunday and then from June 8-11 from 8.00am to 3pm week days only.
For more information, call 17788101.