The ARK William Parker Academy Art Exhibition was, as always, a great success.

The event showcased a fine selection of work from Year 10, GCSE and A Level students. The displays looked wonderful and, with the huge variety of topics, media and processes used, there was something to suit all tastes.

The event ran for several days and concluded with a celebration evening on Thursday 18th June, where prizes were awarded to students for their hard work and dedication.

In Art and Design A-Level they were:
Bethany Hodges for outstanding work over 2 years. Bethany’s final project was based on ‘Mother and Child’. Bethany wanted to look at the subject from an unusual angle, by looking at the relationship between mother and child from the child’s perspective. Her final piece was a selection of mono prints in the style of Tracy Emin. There was also a large textile piece with child-like stitching over the top of faded faces of a child. It was a powerfully emotive piece. Bethany has applied to universities in London such as UCL and Westminster and has been accepted. She has however, decided to study art at foundation level before taking the leap to university.

Zachary Walbrin for outstanding work. For Zachary’s essay unit he researched how ‘Vanitas’ is present in modern day art. He had a beautiful Vanitas still life set up to display his work and his final piece. The artwork was carved out of a stack of books in the shape of a skull.

Other awards went to Alfie Bowersmith for ‘Most improved student’; Alfie created a large assemblage piece based on the seaside.

Timothy Smith received the AS level Art  award for outstanding work; he had used a scalpel to carefully cut silhouettes from book pages, which formed the story of ‘Robin Hood’. They were presented in five boxes, each lit somewhere inside. It looked magical and was skilfully done.

George Upton was awarded the Art GCSE prize. He was described as a dedicated student, who worked consistently to achieve great results. His Exam piece was a large collage of the colonel from ‘KFC’, created out of fast food packaging. Another prize was awarded to Michael Mortimer who completed a set of landscape oil paintings that were extremely accomplished.

Graphics prizes were as follows: Daisy Harlott for outstanding work over two years; Daisy had created a selection of designs which really stood out in the show for being thoughtful and professional looking. Darren Osborne for outstanding work; Darren created a series of design based imagery portraying ‘Terminator’ type characters. For AS level Graphics Toby Shepherd got the prize for outstanding work; Toby had photographed himself in different positions to look like a martial artist. Those images were used to create designs for his drinks carton packaging with an oriental style using bright and bold colours and graphics. 

Sarah Matthews, Art and Design teacher, said ‘Overall it has been a tough year for Art GCSE and we have had to adapt and embrace change to suit our students’ needs. However, we have overcome the challenges along the way and this is clearly visible in this outstanding exhibition. Our A-level students always exceed our expectations as they prove to be extremely creative, motivated and dedicated individuals. Well done to all who have contributed and thank you to all those who have been involved in making this such an exciting exhibition.’

Click on a thumbnail to view the slideshow below.