ARTWORK AND ARTIST STATEMENTS

Christian Cosentino

Psyche

Animated Digital Image with Audio

This artwork addresses the topic of “introspection” by creating a representation of the mind. For example the serpent dragon is representative of the things that enter our minds and destroy us, and the dark landscape behind the rift/break in the sky represents the evil parts inside every human, which is usually restrained by the rest of our personalities; which the sky and islands represent. This artwork was created by drawing and layering shapes in the Adobe Photoshop and doing the movement mainly in Premiere Pro. The music was written and produced using the program Logic Pro. 

Emily Hill

Mother Nature

Watercolour Paint and Ink on Paper

This particular body of work, entitled ‘Mother Nature’, is focused around the unmistakable congruence and harmony seen between nature and the female form. This focus was brought to life through the utilisation of water colour on large sheets of craft paper, with the bold and detailed lines of a fine tip black pen drawn over the top. The vision behind this work was to delve deeper into the reasoning behind the reference to the natural world as ‘Mother Nature’ and how certain qualities of both females and plant life are seen within one another.

Justin Clarke

New York’s Pack

Digital Image (and 3D glasses needed for viewing the artwork)

 A ‘lone wolf’ is an animal or person that generally lives or spends time alone instead of with a group. The term originates from wolf behavior. Normally a pack animal, wolves that have left or been excluded from their pack are described as lone wolves.” - Jordan Gray (Relationship Coach)

My aim was to explore the notion of the ‘lone wolf’, comparing various wolf positions with a populated background of the city contrasting them. Myself personally is usually a very extroverted person but I also enjoy my moments of solitary when I am by myself and away from social interaction. Therefore, this piece reveals a side no one really knows. 

Alana McDougall

The Victim and The Predator

Digital Drawings Printed on Watercolour Paper

Bullying is a massive problem in today’s society. It comes to the point where people are taking their own lives. Bullying can be related to predator and prey as the animal predator can be the bully and the prey can be the victim. In my work I combined a human and an animal to demonstrate the idea of bullying in humans represented by animals.  I used the image of a predator and prey used words to represent what the bully would possibly say opposed to what the victim might usually say.  

Katarina Mikulic

‘Slaughtered Desire’

Acrylic paint and mixed media

Do you think about what happens behind closed doors when the plate hits the table? Do you think about the pain they feel before they died to satisfy your unknown indulgence in them? Do you know who they are or how they were treated before you supported their slaughter? Do you know that you are consuming what is called an act of mindless indulgence?

Many people don’t know where these animals are truly kept or how they get to the plate, some people may picture miles of green pastures that the animals freely roam around; that they have the same rights as humans when it comes to life without need of pain or suffering. Animals are being forced into small cages or pens that haven’t been sanitized, feed copious amounts of hormones and force to grow quicker, that only just the start. These frighten animals only wish for their pain and suffering to end as these barbaric slaughter houses inflect insufferable agony.

‘Slaughtered Desire’ is not a statement about veganism neither is it related to the subject of it, this artwork is purely about the indulgence of animal products and the meat industry.

Edan Hannah

Three Stages of Catharsis

Digital Photograph and film

I believe art therapy is indulgent. For me it helps channel my obsessions positive or negative and produce something meaningful. For me it reaches into the part of yourself where words don’t exist to describe the emotions you feel. they are feelings that can only be expressed through lines, shape and colours, that heal the wounds of the soul and if art can help me not feel so alone in my visions, if it can serve as transportation to a higher self, a calling where the heart and head are equal, then for me there is no higher sense of indulgence.

My body of work takes view of the issues concerning my visual impairment, how it motivates my artistic endeavours and how other influences in my life have shaped me into the person I perceive myself as today. In my film, I deconstruct tribulations in my life that turned me to art as a means of surmounting and accepting them. This notion is further reinforced by the two glass panels, showcasing my embodiment of art, individualistic reality and inner state of being.

Terence Crowe

Crossing This Red Sea of Mine

Oil on canvas

This work responds to the concept of change and development, focusing on the psychological context of the human condition. It symbolises my emotional state after my first break-up. The red ocean represents my overwhelming anguish, and the shipwreck symbolises my relationship’s end. The green figure on the cliff represents my hope for a better future. The corpse in the bottom corner symbolises my grief threatening to pull me down. Representing my disturbed emotional state, the thick texture of the oil paint provides a visceral surface. Hence, my work aims to both communicate my feelings and act as a cathartic medium.

Phoebe Burchell

Ingested Mistake

Plastics, wire, wood, beads and pebbles

The long term consequences of the production of plastic bags are still evident in our contemporary society, today. The inspiration for my body of work was my love for the earth’s environment and animals, and the fact that humans are slowly killing sea turtles because of the lack of attention towards plastic waste. My 3D sculpture focuses on plastic pollution in the ocean, especially plastic bags and their lethal harm to sea turtles.  Turtles eat plastic bags thinking that they’re jellyfish and eventually end up dying because the toxic plastic gets stuck in their digestive system.

Dionne Hotene

YAYA (June Curtis)

Acrylic and impasto on canvas

The concept of my making was to critically research and extensive process exploration into a journey of change and development. Considering the focus, human condition, inspiration was drawn to paint my grandmother June Curtis, whom I can closely relate to. I’ve used two images of my grandmother, showing emotional change over time. The artwork is a visual account of past life experiences over a period of sixteen years. In one of grandma’s study books, the following passage underlined, indicates its importance to her.

“Never forget – LOVE everyone, despite their behaviour and attitude towards you”.

Ebony Bambrick

Mouvement Suspendu

Digital photograph

I explored the art of dance, and how its usual continual fluid movement can be stopped in time through photography to form shapes not normally visible. How the body is positioned when the powder is thrown, determines how the powder will be placed and shaped in the air surrounding the model. The resulting form of the powder in the air is open for interpretation as it creates shapes in and around the figure. They become extensions of the models body and envelope her, extending the movement she has performed.

Ella Jacobson

Peachy Paris

Digital photograph

I am interested in making clothes and styling them to create different moods. Fashion branding and marketing inspire me to create a feel with each of the outfits I construct and then capture. I develop a character with each shoot and investigate poses and locations appropriate to reveal that specific identity. I explore lots of different styles through my work so that each is revealing of the way I feel about the clothing I depict and presents more than an image of the clothing alone. I use the model, props and location to invent the ‘look’, so that it is about the ‘whole image’ projected rather than the person modelling.

Cassandra Duncan

Solis

Digital photograph

The focus of this piece was to express the idea that we as a society reflect and change according to our surroundings. This work responds to the concept of time and place by expressing that over time, people can change to reflect who and what they surround themselves with. Therefore, the arm in the image as it reaches towards the light above it, replicates how as a society we should strive to always be ourselves and not succumb to our surroundings. The gradient on the hand and arm from white to blue represents the clouds that also constantly move and transform into different shapes as life itself replicates this notion through its dynamic fluidity.

Jerry Schmidt

Stable

Digital photographs of construction

My work explores the idea that we are all at different stages in our lives, facing our own struggles and obstructions. The contrasts I have created with the surface texture of the rounded form and the spikes which interrupt the curve of the form present the idea of boundaries and obstacles, all the things that get in the way of a smooth peaceful problem free life. The multiple images convey different perspectives of the same thing, as different people approach life’s struggles very differently, and even view their journey through life from differing angles.

Gabriella Dudman

“Home”

Graphite pencil on Stonehenge paper

Journey is personal growth, past, present and future; ultimately our journeys are all we know. These self-portraits depict the loneliness accompanied with the exclusivity of our journeys.

Ivy is ambiguity and suffocation that defines me. Loneliness is a state too much like home due to repeated abandonment. Willow weeps for structure, consistency and the future. I desire structure, although past taught me demons disguise themselves in structure; bringing chaos and regret.

My journey, with darkness brings light through the wisdom they bring. Fear and absence only I can comprehend, gives signal that the only person I desperately seek, is myself.

Anita Munro

Blank Canvas

Digital Image

We all get caught up in the complexities of everyday life. Beneath all the drama, mistakes and hardship, there's always a blank canvas to start. The simplicity of the work suggests renewal.

Emily Lamburd

The Glitch Effect

Mixed Media

Is technology going to overpower us in the future? Technology will always have faults- the 'glitch effect'. Humans also will have faults. The combination of the two could result in the destruction of the earth by those who wish to improve it. Each section of the 'glitch' represents the time it will take to happen. You will see the glitch when it is too late to stop it.

Emmeline Best

Untitled (Anxiety)

Acrylic on canvas

Anxiety. It's more than just panic attacks and screaming or crying. The multiple heads represent how people over analyse things and can't think clearly when nervous. The faces have no mouths as many find it hard to talk in front of others. The eyes look away- anxious people find it hard to be comfortable around others and find it hard to connect. The coloured sections are deliberately jarring- I hope the viewer would prefer the work without the colour. That's how I feel about anxiety.

Gavan Smith

Ashes to Ashes

Digital Imaging

This work explores the idea of recurring patterns throughout time as well as the notion that we always go back to what we came from. The rise of social media in our modern world has undoubtedly impacted on the way people live their lives. While it is natural for us as a species to adapt and continue to change, we were never supposed to reach a state of inhumanity and alienation. We were designed for a hunter- gatherer lifestyle, not what we are doing now. In the end, we come from dust; we return to dust.

Jaimee McEwen

The Earth

Digital Imaging

The Earth represents something bigger than ourselves. The human features are symbols of different aspects of life. The hands are a metaphor for strength, power and protection, protecting the Earth from the destruction of humans. The mouth is the centre of many of the fundamental components of human activity- speech and breath. The Earth inside the mouth symbolises the human destruction of the Earth. The symbolism of the skull is a representation of death and mortality. There is no nature, the world has been taken over by humans. The universe has only evidence of humans, because they have destroyed everything.

Kara Batchelor

The Motion of Fear

Mixed Media on Light box

This piece reflects the conflicting emotion of fear. As human beings, we are seen to be challenged through life experiences and hardships that essentially develop and establish who we are individually. Significant sparks of our individual characteristics are usually a direct reflection of past experiences- especially in relation to fears we hold close to our hearts. Through the use of layers, lines and textures- a timeline of people's lives is represented, where continual layers are added to symbolise the growing of age and the development of character within a person, in relation to fear.

Liliana Mikami

Viewmaster of my Past

Mixed Media

The women in my life have had a profound effect on me, from two very polarising cultures- English/ Australian and Japanese. Within the artwork there are four generations of women represented, as well as myself. Looking back at my life I can see how they have shaped me, and through the viewmaster dial, I can focus on key moments from my past. I am me because of these women

Chelsea Bellamy

Tension

Crystal, fibre and found object installation

This body of work expresses the idea that nature exists within man and explores the paradox of the tension between the two. Found objects are utilised as symbols of the built environment and our consumer needs. The spoon, fork and knife are a metaphor for the blurring of the lines between ‘need’ and ‘want’ that drives us to consume and destroy. The crystals growing on the red string represent the fragility of the natural world. The red string resembles blood vessels, which are under tension within the frames, and connects mankind, nature, and our constructed world. 

Hayley Moore

Inescapable

Oil and sand on canvas

The focus of my body of work is to merge inner emotions with outer appearances, conveyed as a blur to express the vulnerability that embodies grief. A dominant figure emerges within the thick ridges of paint: a metaphor for profound vulnerability and the great magnitude of heartache felt at times of loss over someone so influential in my life. The size of the dominant figure stands as a reminder of the intense impact loved ones have on our life. By mixing sand into the background layer, a subtle yet constant textured surface is formed, signifying the passage of time and the inescapable timing of life and death.  

Hudson McMahon

Perspective

Found windows and spray paint

The wiser we become as a species the more things change, but there is always a remnant of the past whether that be from relics or from knowledge passed down from one generation to the next. The found windows are a representation of the leftovers of knowledge; of things we no longer know or do, such as using lead paint and constructing windows in this way. I chose to do a portrait of my grandfather because, to me, he has always seemed like a very wise man. I believe with age, comes a greater appreciation for the world, others’ beliefs and perspectives - this is represented through the stencil process. Separate layers of a stencil are confusing and unclear, they’re hard to work out what the final will be, until the layers are built up, building depth and detail to the work. This symbolizes time, the layers of growing up, growing older and the growth of knowledge.   

Kate Neilson

Buried Treasure

Oil on canvas

I want you to judge and make assumptions about my artwork like how you would judge a person you don’t really know. You don’t know the full story behind the artwork or the figure in it, yet your first response is to judge it only on what you see based on your own values, inclinations, and culture. It is only human nature; we can’t stop ourselves. We as humans are extremely good at concealing things, whether it be intentional or not. One of those things happens to be ourselves. Society has certainly not made it any easier to reveal our true selves with social media being one of the biggest influences. Society tells us that there is only a certain type of beautiful and that consists of unrealistic standards. However, we weren’t born to be carbon copies of each other, we are all unique and we shouldn’t hide the treasure inside us. 

Koushalya Pereiaslov

The Ignorance to Our Ego State.

Our ego are the monsters that we mentally construct, due to our selfishness, lack consciousness and ignorance. Like cancer, our egos leach into minds taking over and intoxicating our thoughts and behaviour. This disease-like mind state is embodied within my body of work, where I surface the alter-ego as a physical form - dragging it from the darkness of our minds into the eyes of my viewers.

I focused on connecting with the ego of the world, instead of fixating on what it should look like I let my mind project the ego as a feeling - a disease of the mind. The creatures that make up of the pieces are the illustrations of our egos, the disease that absorbs us. The real form of our darkness walks across my canvases, they no longer are limited to our sickened thoughts, their behaviours exposed into reality at the cost of the humanity. 

Emily McFarlane

Transformation

Metal sculpture

Transformation is a marked change in form, nature, or appearance. Or a process by which one figure, expression, or function is converted into another one of similar value.

I use transformation in my artwork when returning something to its natural form. I used a number of materials to create artwork reflecting on the transformation of natural form with the use of metals such as aluminum. My artwork explores natural landscapes through shape, texture and colour and uses raw metal and material incorporated through imagery and light. My body of work has multiple Medias such as painting, sculpture and digital imagery.

Garrick Hinrichsen

Restoration

Photography on canvas, acrylic

Restoring the mundane way of life urbanisation brings to society is symbolised in this Body of Work. The population is almost unemotional towards life. The light prism beams new light into a lacklustre living environment. Cities age and their inhabitants often pursue an existence of mundane monotony and set routine. This existence requires a fundamental change to rejuvenate creative thought, which stimulates a renewal and brings colour and vibrancy back to the city.

Jordyn Corbett

The Substantial Manifestation of the monotonous mind

Acrylic on canvas

This body of work is focused on how destructive depression can be on the mind, leaving it destitute and riddled with holes; lines that never heal. The painted, cut and manipulated lines represent the shifts that occur when suffering a degenerative condition such as depression. My journey through depression was a slow recovery that has although left me stronger, I am mentally weaker than I ever was, unable to heal those parts of my mind that have left me brittle and unable to deal with confrontation. The use of black and white as dominant colours helps show the dullness that is riddled through one’s mind, leaving the world monotonous and destitute.

Olivia Lines

Restored Healing

Porcelain ceramics

My work is primarily concerned with Herbalism with a number of interconnecting focuses and ideas. They include healing powers; remedies; curing; restorative healing; aromas and shelters. This series refers to the process of healing. The works bring together ideas related to dwellings and capsules for herbs to grow, curatives walls to protect the body and human connections with natural restoring powers.

“The highest ideal of cure is the speedy, gentle and enduring restoration of health by the most trustworthy and least harmful way.” – Samuel Hahnemann

Jordan Palmer

Radioactive decay

Digital Imagery

The world around us continues to decay before our eyes, with many of us doing nothing about it and expecting it to restore itself. There are consequences to our actions. Decaying may never be restored unless we change. My art unfolds the issues relating to the Fukushima Disaster that occurred in Japan, showing the full effects of Radioactive Decay. This Body of Work symbolises deterioration, devastation and decomposed bacteria with appropriations of the Rising Sun, The Great Wave and Mt Fuji to depict a story that should be told.

Alyssa Brolly

Rebirth

Acrylic Paint, Found Objects

In my work Rebirth I have depicted my interpretation of what my rebirth would look like if it was to happen. The depiction of the two wolf heads approaching my face are used to symbolise loyalty and my spirit, which is something that I hold highly in my life. The fallen feather represents spiritual evolution on a higher plane, as I believe once we die we are rebirthed into something beyond our previous life and into something much higher. The plant life is my way of making a connection to mother earth- as everything dies and is reborn.

Ben Corrie

All the Outs in Free

Digital

The teenage years are very fickle, trying and some of the strangest and most lively years of one’s life. Oxenfree developed by Night School Studio was inspiration for this piece, as the representation of teens within Oxenfree is relatable and realistic. It’s an experience in which I really enjoyed and left me invested into the lives of these characters from an interactive storytelling standpoint. From the music to the scenery and to the art style itself of Oxenfree there is an air of intrigue and discovery that is both new and nostalgic. Oxenfree (Aswell as the recent Night in the Woods) left a lasting impression on the realisation on how I have wasted most of my priceless teenage years forcing myself to grow up without really thinking about how I won’t be able to get those years back.

Ruby Edwards

Death Consumes Us

Digital, Found Objects

In my work titled 'Death Consumes Us' I have attempted to portray how at any given point death will come. The photographs provide the viewer with snippets into people’s lives, as objects placed within these photographs appear to be used at one point or in the process of being used or consumed. The half-eaten fruit provide symbolic a representation of aging whilst also denoting the fall of man or pending death. In my work objects provide untold stories, where once there was a life full of daily pleasures.

Hope Rubach

Petals that were once supple flesh

Digital Image, Flower, Ice

Petals that were Once Supple Flesh (2017) is a celebration of the organic process of deterioration and decay that all living things go through. beauty. This organic process of placing live flowers into a block of ice have allowed me to capture a moment in time or in this case a moment in life. The ice that is deeply embracing the flowers symbolises death, whilst the slow process of ice melting, drips the life away from the flowers beauty. These works have become portraits and not botanical illustrations, as each piece reflects on the fragility of life.

Anna Spilsted

“Missing Piece”

Oil paint on birch ply

My journey is writ large in the sky and is a significant aspect that contributes to my character; who I am and who I will be. A certain experience can influence someone’s life, no matter how small or big it may seem. Growing up with separated parents was something that I found difficult as a child, particularly the emotions and feelings that followed. As I became older, I began to grow apart from my father and we lost our connection. The clouds are a metaphorical subject matter that are emblematic of myself and translate into an emotive, personal narrative.

Chontelle Jeynes
'Angelic Luminosity'
Oil on canvas

Growing up and living around the ocean has played a major role in my life, I wanted to capture the way the water makes me feel.  When I am floating, it is almost like being in a hypnotic state, switching off from the bombardment of the constant sensory stimuli around us.  I love the way you can manipulate oil paint and move it around on the canvas like water.  The white wedding dress show an innocence and purity.  It is empowering and feels sensual on the skin, an intricate beauty that is held together by fine threads that can be easily torn and broken.

Jane Osbourne

“While no-one is watching”

Photography on brushed aluminium

My piece shows a metaphorical journey of time passing and negative developments taking place. While not knowing it, the decisions and actions that stem from even one person in society and lead to mass disaster. A wave of events can take place from a simple decision that would affect others around the decision maker. When all this is happening, the general public do not notice, as issues grow while no-one is watching. Much like myself, as I took a journey down the mental disorder path and developed Anorexia. I was unaware of what destruction my actions were causing to my family and others surrounding me. My situation is a mirror of society; as we don’t understand the negative developments around us until it’s too late and there is no going back. The black ink seen in my pieces represent this devastating development with society and myself. It will keep growing and seeping into everyone’s lives just because we are naïve to it all, therefore disasters go unnoticed until we are facing the worst.

Leisha Liu

“Facade”

Oil painting on canvas triptych

A façade and a clandestine side takes on the two sides of myself. The darker areas that are shrouded in mystery both hide away my anxiety and weaknesses from others around me where only I have seen what is concealed. I favour keeping things sealed but through my eyes, if one is attentive enough, the truth and honesty can be seen. A hand covering my mouth forces my silence to cover a part of my true self and all the characteristics that I am disappointed about but I also have that desire to alter the side I obscure from people.

Siaan Charles

‘Identity’

Oil pastel, ink and packing paper on canvas

Personally, I view art as means for self-discovery and reflection, therefore, when issued the unit ‘The Artist Within’ I set out to conquer the feat of actualising my entire identity within a single artwork, a virtually impossible challenge given the complexity of the human being. After a prodigious amount of personal reflection and rumination, I pinpointed the fundamental constituents of my identity and the core circumstances which have, and continue to mould my character.

The primary objective of this body of work was to present my identity in a raw, honest and unembellished manner, offering viewers an exhaustive insight into my true character. Achieving this aim became a substantial psychological challenge, with feelings of trepidation and angst engendered by the prospect of exposing my flaws, desires, personal circumstances and private thoughts to strangers, acquaintances and even my closest companions. Having to confront and accept my flaws also proved a challenge as one’s inadequacies are an uncomfortable topic to ruminate on, let alone to explicitly set forth for viewers to perceive.

Within each piece, the major constituent of my identity is subtly expressed through the oil pastel illustrations. However, the symbolism of these images isn't hugely explicit, therefore, the incorporated text allows the viewer to successfully discern the intended meaning of each piece.

Each image was drawn from self-portrait photographs, reinforcing the notion of personal identity. The interconnectedness between the featured themes is expressed through the consistent pastel colour scheme and the utilisation of small individual canvases which unite to form the installation, just as the depicted elements unite to form one’s identity.

Kayla Orbell

Introspective Whispers

Canvas, Brown Paper, White Paper, Acrylic Paint, Led Pencil, Charcoal Pencil, Watercolour Paints, White Gel Pen & Gel Medium.

 Within my artwork, I wanted to convey the themes of dreaming and the subconscious through the idea of altering reality. The conceptual and communicative artwork expresses the process of individuation through dreams. Inspired by Jungian’s theory of dreams, my artwork conveys and comments on the subconscious mind. Dreams are the successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. It is within this stage where our waking self are put to rest and our sub conscious takes over. Our dreams reveal more than they conceal and they serve to guide the waking self to achieve wholeness and offer solutions to problems that are faced in the waking life.

 Symbolism holds substantial influence in dreams and holds much depth when it comes to the explanation and meaning of dreams. The use of symbols are presented numerous times within my artwork as the subconscious seeks to communicate a hidden or underlying message that cannot be expressed to one’s self in the ordinary language of consciousness. It is these symbols that show dimensions of ourselves and provide answers to situations we are facing.

The moon and whales are presented as the main features of symbolism within the artwork as they convey meaning and correlate with the natural expression of our imagination. Whales within dreams represent intuition and awareness of ongoing situations. Alternatively, they symbolise the falling of relationships and a sense of overwhelming and is often metaphorically presented to “wail” and cry out about something one is struggling with. The moon often symbolises the completion and wholeness of one’s self and acts as a restoration of the spiritual mind as they enter new beginnings and start a new cycle. The artwork addresses the focus of Altering Reality as it reflects healing during these stages of human development within dreams and determines one’s capacity for reflection and adaption between the conscious and subconscious mind. 

Jack Wright

‘2° Above’

Watercolour Paper, Watercolour, 0.2, Ink Pen, Hot glue, Charcoal

Last year, I saw an article stating that the Polar Bear will be extinct in 20 years due to Global Warming. This devastated me, knowing that one of my favourite creatures on Earth, won’t be here for long. Before that, I went to Heron Island, for a school program. It was incredible seeing magnificent creatures and beautiful habitats. That quickly changed when a ranger said that these animals are on the verge of extinction and the corals are bleaching because of Global Warming and we might be the last generation to possibly see them in the Great Barrier Reef. My artwork depicts my attitude towards the issue, and how much I value the animals, through four crafted paintings in black frames.

My message, is to raise awareness of Global Warming to everyone. I want everyone to understand that they may be causing this issue and that you can only change it by preventing the use of carbon emission. I want them to know that they may potentially be causing the extinction of many creatures on Earth. I want the future generations to experience nature and its many unique animals that are critically endangered to these effects of Global Warming. I used four different animals to represent this idea: The critically endangered Polar Bear, Adélie Penguin, Northern Atlantic Cod and the extinct Golden Toad.

The animals within the artwork, especially the Golden Toad are victims of Global Warming, they are the top critically endangered species, the toad being extinct because of this issue. They are all presented as semi-transparent in my artwork, the colours of the background showing through to represent their apparitions, because they are dying and soon will be extinct from the effects of Global Warming.  The animals are melting from extreme heat, leaving a puddle of their body on the ground. This ripple trail traces back to looming machines with smoke billowing, tracing their injuries and cause of melting from heat to the various machines that have caused Global Warming.

Bayleigh Cole

“Stepping Stones to a Better World”

Video & Photographic installation, Photo prints on canvas

‘Attitudes, Beliefs and Values’ was the concept of this piece. To best represent this concept, I chose to base my artwork on the idea of other people’s beliefs and how they can make an impact on the world.

My interpretation of the concept had the purpose of showing how one’s beliefs can affect the world. In order to do this, I used a quote from Mother Teresa that best represented the idea of spreading beliefs and actually making a difference. The quote reads, ‘"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”. To me, this quote means that alone, as a human being, it is impossible to make the world of difference; however, you can publicise your attitudes, beliefs and values and voice your opinion which can in turn create a domino effect, furthermore encouraging others to do the same.

The use of mediums can play an important role in getting what you want across to the viewer. I decided to use the concept of stones and intertwine that idea with attitudes, beliefs and values. I created surveys and asked people to fill them out. The survey required 10 words that the person thought could have an impact on the world. I took these words and painted them on the stones, later asking the person to take a photo of themselves with the stones. I used these photos and created a video to show where the people were from and what beliefs they think could change the world. To further promote the ideas of beliefs, I took photos of the stones in places across the Gold Coast, Tweed and various other locations. I took these photos and made light boxes. These light boxes were stacked at the front of the display. The light boxes are stacked, thus representing how each belief, value and attitude can act as a building block to creating a better world.

A form of media I haven't had much experience in was creating a multi model presentation alongside my artwork. After creating the stones and sending them away to different places across the world, I asked people to take a photo of themselves in their hometown. I used these pictures to create a film presentation.

This piece holds great significance to me because it reflects how everyone’s attitudes, beliefs and opinions can, in fact, make a difference.

Olivia Buttigieg

Are My Dreams A Reflection of Reality?

Photography

Have you ever woken from a dream not realising that what you were dreaming is not what reality seems to be?

My artwork, explores the relationship with the concept of dreaming and observing reality. The figure in the image is a girl, her body language is suggesting how she feels physically and emotionally - letting the hair loose, limbs out and head in a back ward, weightless position. In the artwork the girl is wearing a blue polka dot dress, this symbolic piece represents her childhood memories. It is also evident that the petite body, therefore identifies innocence and gentleness.  

 Throughout the process of my artwork I was inspired to create what physically and emotionally represented me as an individual. The main inspiration of my artwork was inspired by novel and movie, Alice in Wonderland, the concept of Alice falling down the rabbit hole, escaping from the harsh reality of growing up. The concept of dreaming and observing reality comes from the idea of Alice’s bad dreams that she had as a child and relating them to the concept of ‘experiencing harsh reality’.

 Are My Dreams a Reflection of Reality reflects back to my personal aesthetic and the concept of not wanting to grow up. Water is the one place people go to soothe the body and for mental and physical meditation. The concept of drowning in one’s dream, is drowning in a problem one is not wanting to fight when reality takes control. Weightlessness was a big factor which I took into consideration when creating my artwork, as water holds so much power and strength that it absorbs everything that takes control of us.

Beckie Bloomfield

Alchemical Mutation

Mixed media on canvas panels

Alchemical Mutation’ brings together related concepts I have been exploring in relation to the concept of Transitions and the Human Condition. The focus of Alchemy led me to discover the art of Kintsugi which appealed to me because it emphasises perfection in imperfection...even in brokenness and death itself. My use of gold to beautify and embellish the broken or torn areas of  flesh relates to the gold joinery  of Kintsugi and to alchemical transitions and transformation of metal to gold. The human condition is a recurring aspect in my work…what it means to be human, and the fragility of life itself are concepts I  explore in this work. The transitions I’ve created also suggest an imagined futuristic element, suggesting this figure is in the process of transformation, or becoming immortal. It could represent a robotic cyborg or  hybrid life-form that embraces death and life as one.  

Bree McDonald

Garden Cherubim

Mixed media assemblage series

My work is an installation piece that represents the concept of Genetic Mutation and its effect on society in regard to ethics.  Genetic mutation is criticised widely by many in our society, where technology is sometimes seen as a negative. The new practices of DNA splicing and genetic manipulations like ‘build-a-baby’ are scary and advantageous to many who view this type of control over life, as a type of ‘playing God.’ My work communicates the struggle between wanting to help people with scientific and medical solutions to their problems, and also not wanting to alter large parts of a person as a result of genetic engineering. I want my audience to consider how they feel about the topic of genetic mutation and its possible consequences or outcomes. If there is no genetic disease to cure, should this engineering be allowed? If there were stricter rules put on the industry, is that taking people’s freedom of action away? There are lots of questions but this artwork has no answers, I simply ask my audience to consider how they feel about the topic.

John Kim

The Last Supper; The Endless Supper

Acrylic on canvas

My artwork, “The Last Supper, The Endless Supper”, is an appropriation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” (1498). Hence, it represents Christ and the twelve Apostles gathered for the last time before the crucifixion. I retained the blurred lines of the original fresco and added my own elements to enhance the changed meaning.   I painted the surrounding skeletal forms  to emphasise and symbolise imminent death as a transition to the afterlife and eternity. The use of black and white contrast in the skeletal figures creates a foreshadowing of death when juxtaposed with the naturalness of expression with the modelled figures around the table.  My work, however, remains open to interpretation because my use of transitions could also symbolise the demise or death of religion itself for some viewers. My intention is that my work is a visual metaphor representing the transition from this earthly plane to the next.

John Kim

Power Trip

Acrylic on canvas

 “Power Trip” depicts portraits of selected current global leaders and explores political, cultural, propagandist, and societal contexts in terms of social control and social collapse. Moreover, since my works are mainly inspired by Andy Warhol’s “Mao, 1973” and his series of portraits of contemporary political leaders, my work represents the implied political power of the subjects, the abuse of power and projection of power, as well as contrasting ideological values and positions in our global society.

To express ‘halo’ effects and amplify each leaders’ power intensity, I have created gradations of grey.  The use of black and white tonal portraits for the political leaders creates a sombre tension and a formal atmosphere of projected power. The weightiness of the issue derives from the fact that global futures are dependent on how these leaders govern.  My work suggests an expanded social narrative with reference to the current cultural tensions and contexts, and also therefore, adds to an ongoing political-historical narrative. However, the series may remain open to interpretation. It could also symbolise the glorification of the leaders themselves for some viewers and no doubt for the leaders themselves.

Tegan Rayner

Decay

Sculptural plaster form

Decay represents a narrative on the human condition. The plaster sculpting of the decaying body represents a skeletal form melded with a stool made from a tree stump and bamboo. It combines a symbolic transition through the processes of decay in relation to life and death and the stages between beauty and ugliness. The form suggests the transition towards decay through creating a sense of slipping away or melting formlessness.

Ryan Saunders

Sleep

Media sculptural form

One of my greatest fears is immaturity. The child is weak and knows no better than to coil itself for warmth and security. So it should it… it is alone.    The adult is sick, scrawny and pink. Despite the steady march of life and its many, vast opportunities it cannot support itself. The adult did not mature. Therefore, like the child, it pathetically coils, frail and solitary.  You will notice the figures do not display any facial features or any cues to gender. This is to shift the focus to the body language alone.

Bethanie Key

Distorted Landscape

Acrylic, Perspex & Wood

Paradigms are the theoretical framework that characterise our mindsets and ideals. They are the film through which we see the world, constantly influencing our views, mindsets and perspectives.

My artwork is characterised by this idea in its form and philosophical meaning. ‘Distorted Landscape’ allows viewers to look through a lens in order to view the full picture, relating to the idea of perspectives.

Hayley Willis

Fractured Self

Wood, Wool & Photographic print

The human race is yet to find a reason behind existence; we still search for answers, even in alternate dimensions and parallel universes. Are we all alone in this universe or are there endless versions of ourselves, are we really all individuals or all a part of an endless supply of our own minds? ‘Fractured Self’ focuses on ideas of self-identity merged with the alternate realities explored through quantum mechanics & string theory.

Sarah Oakes

(Lovely) Decapitation

Ceramic, Acrylic, Wood & Earth

There is beauty in death. Not the idealised, socially acceptable, idealised beauty we are coerced in seeing through the media, but rather one slow & subtle – an appreciation of the natural cycle of things. (Lovely) Decapitation focusses on this idea. The inevitability of our demise (and decay) should not be feared but venerated.

Alicia Lamburd

Hidden Valley

Photographic print & Resin

Hidden Valley intends to demonstrate the loneliness within our world. That perhaps we are forever looking down an unending, seemingly endless ravine in a desperate hope to see someone on the other end. We can all relate to the cloaked figure looking back; wondering if they should continue forward or go back the way they came. We always look over our shoulders, back from where we came just like the figure that is in pursuit of purpose.

Alexandra Butler

Metamorphism

Photography and Photoshop

“Some people are going to leave, but that’s not the end of your story. That’s then end of their part in your story”. – Farazz Kazi

Metamorphism was created with the aim to communicate young love’s heightened obsessions and devastating lows. The gain and loss of a first love can surface a change of person, resulting in them growing from the experience. Through experimenting with photography and Photoshop, strong feelings of passion and connection have been explored and communicated. This has been created through the use of image layering techniques inspired by artists “Nir Areli”, “Christopher Reylander”, as well as the following quotes:

“You can decorate absence all you want – but you’re still going to feel the missing presence.” – Sio Vivian

“Of course ill hurt you. Of course ill hurt me. Of course we hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To love means accepting the risk of heartbreak. To become presence means to accept the risk of absence.” – Antione De Saint – Exupery

“But now I know how absence can be presence” – Audrey Niffenegger.

Paige Garner

Rivers of Fire

Photos on foam core; acrylic & liquitex on canvas

When we fall in love, we change completely. It can make us happier, a better person, give us a new outlook on life…but it can also demonize us, taking control of our lives until we can barely recognise ourselves without that significant person. The range of emotions we go through end up defining us; anger, sadness, and acceptance. What I want you as an audience to receive from my artwork is understanding and empathy – to relate my body of work to your personal experience. I used liquitex to meld complimentary paint colours together and create a marbled effect, and coloured lighting technique which establishes the mood for each photo. To me, love is a passionate, swirling cacophony; it’s mercurial, meaning inconsistent and unpredictable, and I hope I portrayed this through my work.

Sofia Palladino

Digital Photography

The Pain Is Real

 "Depression is when you can't feel at all. Anxiety is when you feel too much. Having both is a constant war within your own mind. Having both means never winning."

Using my own stories and experiences, I am capturing the raw essence of the damages of pressures. Through this personal journey, I have grown and found that depicting my fears has become therapeutic, as well as a gateway for others to express their oppression and begin their own healing process. Each hand represents a particular type of pressure that causes both external and internal conflict. These damages sometimes mean you can’t feel at all, they leave you feeling numb and empty inside. Sometimes it leaves you feeling too much. Your eyes burn, your heart hurts and your soul aches. The pain is so real; leaving every inch of your body invisible and unexplainable pain.   The pendant of the Virgin Mary symbolises hope in the purest form as it offers a blanket of protection from this pressure and the inevitable submission that would result in not wearing it. 

Kimberly Wong

Graphite on watercolour paper

 ‘As it seems…’

Hypocrisy of beauty is an underlying concept usually gone unnoticed by most. As people live on, they are taught by the young age, of teachings such as, ‘be yourself’ and the importance of natural beauty and yet are also exposed to the conformity and acceptance through body modifications. Constantly what is said and what is done is contradicted under the beauty label, where it is so important for this generation to preach natural beauty and yet it is also evident that we fit in and are accepted by others. The strokes of natural beauty hide the underlying incentive to fit in or to follow the foundations set by society. 

Yuanyan Teng

Mixed Media on watercolour paper

Beneath the surface

The series of five linear line portraits demonstrate the appearance of individuals that are labelled as unattractive by society. These juxtapose the ridiculous beauty standards reinforced by society, and explores the idea of “beauty is only skin deep”. In our society, the expectations of beauty and attractiveness have changed over time and the crave for acceptance has blinded the eyes of many. Hence causing them to ignore the most important aspect of an individual – their personality. These portraits aim to portray that appearance is only trivial when compared to the morals, values and beliefs a person possess. 

Maddison Murphy

Digital Mixed Media

George Bently, John Bennett, William Hollingsworth. 

The term Revolution has copious definitions that may fall beneath it’s title. The first of many, is associated with the word evolution and is typically denoted as the subject of dramatic and wide-reaching change in conditions, attitudes or operations. Scientifically it is described as, “A single orbit of one object around another or about an axis or centre.” However, in historic context, the word revolution has played a major role in the sculpting of our world into the modern society it is today. Though, what issue plagues our world the most? My work is an exploration of the historical relevance that the Industrial Revolution has played in child labour existing both past and present. It challenges typical views of the Industrial Revolution as one of the most innovative eras of time and begs the question as to whether or not child labour is an issue that still exists within our society today. This unit’s work was envisioned to convey the conditioning of these children to morph into the working apparatuses they controlled on a daily basis during this time. Lacking a mental and physical connection to reality, this work was intended to communicate their loss of humanity and their rights as humans to be treated as such.

Maddison Murphy

Societal Ignorance

Mixed Media on paper

: “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”- French Artist Edgar Degas (Aug 19, 2013)

Art. The infamous word has been known to the world by copious definitions throughout history and will likely continue to transcend and blossom into an even more greatly developed concept in the many centuries to come. However, in response to the unit titled ‘What is Art?’, I intended to challenge society and their views on what acceptable on a world-wide scale. Particularly in relation to the recent scandal involving child sex abuse crimes within the Catholic Church. Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia, like Catholic sexual abuse scandals elsewhere, have involved convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests, members of religious orders and other personnel which have come to light in recent decades, along with the growing awareness of sexual abuse within other religious and secular institutions. My works were intended to explore the inner turmoil and what some would say “the sickened minds” of convicted priests and the long term affects on their victims. This unit’s body of work was also envisioned to convey the conditioning of society and members of the religion to ignore the affected children and the impact on the hearts and minds of both primary and secondary victims. Through digital manipulation as well as the difficult work with oil pastel, charcoal and graphite, I believe I was able to achieve this. 

Thomas Isakson

Perception

Straws

By examining the subjectivity of the human visual process, ‘Perception’ investigates the complex relationship between visual stimuli and a person’s understanding of it.  Conditioned by the context from which the sculpture is observed and our own preconceptions, the image becomes open for interpretation. My mission was to create something that communicated more than what it seemed.  Using a humble drinking straw to render a large three dimensional multifaceted perceptual sculpture is aimed to challenge my audience to use their personal opinions, knowledge and beliefs to establish their own evaluation.

Tayla Muller

Mixed Media

Gone. But Never Forgotten. 

Gone. They leave our world physically but do parts of them remain? We are left to pick ourselves up and move through life - without the physical presence of the people who have left lasting impressions on our lives. Gone but not Forgotten, explores the impact of how these people influence and shape the way you live and continue to live after they have moved on. I question the traditional concept of reincarnation - the idea that a person who has passed and reborn into another life and ask if pieces that are left morph within you? Gone but not forgotten pays tribute to the spiritual essence that those who impact us leave behind and that even those they have left us they are still deeply apart of us all.

Jake Millward-Davis

Hylemorphism

Sanded wood (1) Pastel, Oil Paint/Oil stick, Acrylic, Graphite

This piece is based on the human condition and how we as humans perceive the subjective and the objective. I begin by drawing a line questioning the nature of identity. Am I more than my constituent parts? Do my thoughts transcend the material world? Exploring ideology and deconstructing the anatomy with mixed media, I aim to confront my inhibitions through the lens of Cartesian doubt merging both idea and medium together. The Greek words ὕλη hyle, refer to "wood, matter" and μορφή, morphē, refer to "form”; this work is a unification of both.  

Jake Millward-Davis

Trouble Maker

 Wood panels Pastel, Oil Paint/Oil stick, Acrylic, Graphite

And on the top of the apartment building, there lived two separate single mothers with children. A troublesome boy that showed no acknowledgment to his loving mother, and a 4-year-old girl whose mother just needed the comfort of cheap wine and cigarettes. The world was cruel to the little girl and yet she still loves. Lilly was kind and sweet. Lilly was proof that there is God.

Michelle Venter

Exclusion

Graphite on watercolour paper

Africans’ during the Apartheid era (1948-1991) received racial discrimination due to their beliefs, cultural backgrounds and traditions. They were segregated during their everyday life while receiving the ‘older’ and less valuable equipment to complete tasks, for example; drinking fountains, bus stops and public toilets. The playing cards underneath the drawn faces represents the lack of equipment provided for the African people. The card; two of clubs, is usually the lowest card which demonstrates how the Africans were treated; the ‘lower class’ or the ‘lowest card’. The Queen of diamonds card shows how the white people were classified as privileged; the diamond representing money and the queen representing authority. These two drawn faces were specifically chosen because they are both well known to me. The African woman used to be our home maid whilst living in South Africa and the white woman is my grandmother. Both these women represent the two sides of racial segregation in South Africa.

Emily Gill

Sustained

Photograph

Sustained is a series of images which reflect the concept of fast fashion and consumerist habits in the style of a fashion editorial photoshoot.  These images display high fashion style photos with fast fashion clothing to further portray an aspect of sustainability in our clothes. The clothing shown is ill-fitting unlike high fashion which relates to the quality of the pieces.  Fast fashion are large quantities of ‘cost efficient’ clothing that consumerists continue to buy to keep up with growing trends and styles. The world of high fashion has four seasons a year, the fast fashion has fifty-two seasons annually, resulting in 80 billion pieces of clothing each year. These images reflect the over-growth of fast fashion and its cost on the environment due to cheap production and throw away nature of ready-made fashion and clothing.

Michelle Porter

Thank you for shopping with us!

Photograph

Consumerism is turning us into excessive shoppers. As our desire and greed for materialistic items continues to grow, we begin to lose our identity in the process of the madness. Consumerism is an addiction that we as society cannot escape. The work “Thank you for Shopping with Us!’ represents the overwhelming effect that consumerism has on the individual. Receipts were utilised as they are a symbol for the ‘proof of purchase’ that everyone requires. The hidden face represents how our identity is lost amongst the chaos of consumption, whilst the surrounding and intrusive presence of the receipts show that we continue to crave more and more until we begin to drown in our actions. This piece communicates to the audience that our constant greed is becoming unbearable- we are losing our sense of self. The more we take, the more they produce and this continuous cycle between society and economy must end. Society must breakdown this barrier that conceals our individuality and wake up to our punishing ‘buying habits.’  

S.W.

CHAOS OF MIND

Etching

Approximately one in five Australians will suffer from mental illness in any given year. Chaos of Mind comments on the experiences of a person suffering from mental illness. Each of the three girls are filled with swirling chaotic lines, representative of the chaos that may be experienced by someone with mental illness, as they may struggle with getting on with daily life. Each of the girls are surrounded by a solid line, signifying the end of their inside being and the beginning of the stereotypes, preconceptions, and physicality that others see of them. All the solid lines throughout the image are the aspects of the person others see of the figure. The figure staring out at the audience, also wears a shirt which is made up of circles reminiscent of coral. This resemblance is deliberate as coral is dying while we don’t do anything about the issues resulting in the death of coral; so too are sufferers of mental illness who are left feeling so alone they can see no way out except to commit suicide. This piece hopes to begin the journey towards de-stigmatisation, so that more people are free to live their own lives without feeling scorned and rejected for being who they are.

Sasha  Khomenko

‘Abnormal’

Mixed media on canvas

Self reflection is the main focus for this piece. However, I did not want to produce a traditional self-portrait, instead I was interesting in capturing an image that expressed my emotional self.  By experimenting with rusty colours, chunky textures and line work, I focused on creating two beings that represented both my feelings and segments or fragments of my inner subconscious. The figures rely on each other, the main one leading back as if listening to whispers of my inner-self.

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Sam  Scott

‘Bar-Coded’

Animated digital paintings

This work explores the connections between society’s barriers regarding individuality and the ways in which we break free from them. I became fascinated with the concept of products and how many industries view people as a number, a box, or a cost, void of their humanity. From this idea I decided to digitally paint a series of stark figures using my tablet in Photoshop. I wanted to display strong elements of personal individuality through portraits of people of different genders, ethnicities, cultures, styles, who all were definitively different in aesthetic and demeanor, yet were all lacking some crucial part of themselves. Not only was the decision to remove the eyes from each portrait commentary on the loss of individuality within a world of conformity, but by presenting each of the nine portraits within a repetitive, barcode-like composition, I was able to reinforce the idea of society’s inhabitance being represented as products. In order to resolve this work, I decided to animate each of the portraits. The final video featured the same composition, but with select portraits hovering, buzzing or glitching within he animation.

Linda McBride

‘Thai’d’ arcrylic

Paint and pen on paper scroll

I made this work as a dedication to my Thai grandfather who recently passed, not only was he an important figure in my life but was a strong link to my Thai heritage and a significance figure within my cross- cultural family. Western traditions usually associate issues around death with morbid darkness, however my grandfathers’ funeral was full of colours and flowers, a real celebration of his life. The composition mirrors the shape of a stained glass window often found within a Christian church, a reference to my Fathers strong catholic beliefs, however it has been filled with various Thai symbols painted in the vibrant, flat colours found in Asian art. I am so grateful to be multicultural, and am blessed to have grown up in two diverse environments.

Brigette Jones

‘Scarred’

Mixed media on Rosewood slab

‘Scarred’ seeks to bring awareness to deforestation and subsequent ‘scarring’ of the environment.  The 6-foot tall, impressive plank of rosewood was locally sourced, taken from the rosewood forests that once spaned large areas of southern Queensland.  It features two areas of open lesions, embellished with the bloody, gory aesthetics of a wound on human flesh.  To showcase my talents as a realistic artist in practice, I have ably painted endangered insect, bug, fly and spider species; further emphasising the detrimental impact of forest logging on ecosystems and species longevity.  

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Reece Jackson

‘The Tunnel’

Digital video/projection

I have Synaesthesia. It is a perceptual/cognitive phenomenon in which stimulation of one sense triggers an automatic, involuntary experience in another. In my own experience, feelings, sounds and moods have a visual counterpart. ‘The Tunnel’ is not a story. The tunnel is a visual representation of the conflict the human brain faces on a daily basis. Each colour, shot, and position was chosen for a particular reason. Be it love, identity or art, the piece is a tunnel into the inner workings of the human brain and how it perceives different things in an emotional sense, which for myself is visual. I used the two figures as a form of a blank canvas to represent the tunnel, filled with colours and feelings, affected by human meddling. The work is a continual loop and has no edge to present a feeling, rather than an event.

Yujie Tang

Movement

Coloured pencil on craft cart

Throughout art history, the human form and its movement, have been a subject of exploration. It is not unusual that the human is innately intrigued by himself.  The body and its movement is so familiar that it frequently goes unnoticed. In today’s world, people become so lost in their busy lifestyles that they rarely stop and pay attention to moment; to what they are doing, but rather spend each day restlessly moving from one thing to another. I have taken simple movement and made it my focus; beauty can be found in the simplest of things.  

Jordi Mitchel

Distorted Identity

Mixed media triptych: printing ink, embroidery thread on water colour paper.

Every single person is shaped into who they are because of their life experiences and the memories and consequences of those experiences. Unfortunately, not all experiences can be recalled and are often blurred. Sometimes we have photographs to prove a time and place, but even they can’t always jog the memory, but create some type of distorted identity, as if a part is missing. 

Leah Murdoch

Distances and Disconnections

Printmaking on watercolour paper

 ‘Distances & Disconnections’ revolves around the concept of relationships; specifically, the ones that don’t work. Sometimes we try to make relationships work, but it doesn’t seem to matter how hard we try, they just don’t come together. Each hand in the works reaches for something other than the other hand. In some works, the hands are facing each other, but they haven’t taken that extra step to actually connect.

In the smaller works, the hands have lost all ability to try, locking themselves into their own space and letting no one else in.

Layne Thompson

Life Events

Ink on photographic paper

Life seems to be made up of a chaotic series of events that come and go. Some are good, others are bad. Some appear to merge into others, while other experiences stand alone and leave us wondering what just happened.  Some are full of confusion, negativity and disorder while others are brimming with joy, laughter and fun. The one thing that remains constant is us. Our response to life is really the only thing that matters; we don’t seem to have much control over many of the other bits.

Emma Newman

‘In Good Hands’

Mixed Media: Clock, collage, acrylic paint, encaustic on wood, dried grass, embossing foil, modelling wire, passionfruit.

‘In Good Hands’, represents the moment in time the family structure I knew and loved for the first 5 years of my life, stopped. It has been created from a series of images and memories I had of my family, as it was. The faded memories are covered in wax. Interestingly in all homes I have lived, a passionfruit vine has grown. I see it as the constant in my life. The vine also symbolizes the holding together of life. A passionfruit swings over a bird’s nest representing the heaviness I felt after my parent’s divorce.