Visual Art News
Sydney Modern preview…
A group of 30 Visual Arts students were fortunate to attend an excursion to an exclusive preview of the new expansion of the Art Gallery of NSW, currently known as Sydney Modern. Plans are afoot to retitle this new incredible space in a local Indigenous language.
This once-in-a-generation project is an important transformation of Sydney’s flagship public institution into a two-building art museum that will almost double the space for the display and enjoyment of art, providing more art for more people!
A new standalone building, public art garden and revitalised historic building brings together art, architecture and landscape in spectacular new ways, with dynamic galleries, site-specific works by leading Australian and international artists, and extensive outdoor spaces for everyone to enjoy.
Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA have designed a new, open and accessible home for art, sensitive to the beautiful parkland setting overlooking Sydney Harbour, on Gadigal country. Sydney Modern is Australia’s first art museum to be awarded the highest rating for sustainable design.
The gallery was fascinating. Before we entered, we were cleansed by a ritual hosted by Aboriginal Elders who walked us through a smoking ceremony with the music of traditional instruments. On the upper floor, a wonderful mix of sculptures and paintings representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture were exhibited in Yiribana. On the lower floors, the most fascinating assortment of arts, including projection, film and ceramics are able to be explored and discovered. There was one room in particular, that resembled that of recovered sea treasure! On the bottom floor, in what was once a World War 2 oil tank, was a dimly lit exhibition of mechanical sculptures that resembled a shipwreck, covered in what looked like coral and moss, suspended by chains and wooden scaffolding. The lights were flashing and rotating, showing a different perspective of the sculpture each time it was spot lit. There were also sound effects of what I thought to be oceans. This exhibition was motivating for each and every sense. It was truly incredible to experience this building, especially in the coveted role of one of its first visitors.
Zoe Lindner
Year 9
Last Friday, myself and a group of art students from SCEGGS had the amazing privilege of visiting the new expansion of the Art Gallery of NSW before it opens to the public on 3 December.
The new gallery space is a beautiful, modern, standalone building that complements the historical architecture of the original building and is the perfect place to house new artworks and installations. The interior architecture is not only beautiful but was designed in such a way that each time you turn a corner, you feel as if you are discovering and exploring each work.
One of my favourite installations was Adrián Villar Rojas’s ‘The End of Imagination’. I had never seen an installation like this before and the experience is something I would highly recommend; it was quite indescribable. As you enter the space your senses are smothered by the darkness and are only given reprieve when the moving beams of light trace the floor of the massive room, whose bounds feel infinite as the darkness obscures the edges of the room. As the light moves over the sculptures that were spread throughout the room, the strange, abstracted, and grotesque shapes are revealed briefly and hidden again as the light moves on. As the light passes the sculptures you spend every second trying to decipher what they are made out of and what they mean. Bits and pieces of found material haphazardly fused together and painted with resin, I felt they conveyed a feeling of decay and death, like a piece of carrion that had been destroyed and discarded over time. This moving light sequence makes you feel as if the sculptures aren’t meant to be seen, as they are given to the audience briefly and then fade into darkness again.
I feel incredibly lucky to have been given this opportunity to see the new building and the new works. There is so much more to this expansion of the gallery of NSW and I think everyone should visit once it opens this Saturday.
Sienna Apted
Year 11
SCOPE edition #11
We are thrilled to present the latest edition of SCOPE art magazine.
SCOPE is a biannual publication that showcases student writing about arts practice and provides compelling insights into the art world through reviews, critical writing and interviews. It is a student led initiative that aims to bring all aspects of the artworld into focus and provide critiques and details of current exhibitions in Sydney, as well as exploring national and overseas events. This year, SCOPE will provide an access point for artworks and exhibitions made by SCEGGS Art students in Years 7 to 12 as campus remains closed to outside visitors at this stage.
The Lead Editor for Semester 2 has been Janet Zheng. In collaboration with the broader SCOPE team, this has been a wonderful opportunity for all students across the Secondary School to develop their evaluative and analytical skills, build their collaborative and critical thinking, and has enabled them to meet new friends and create new relationships and contacts both in the student community and in the vast network of artists, and art world practitioners associated with SCEGGS.
You can access the link here.
Don’t Miss the Earlybird Offers for the National Art School 2023 Summer School Short Courses!
Develop and expand your creative skills in 5-day intensive January Summer Schools, held on-campus at NAS in Darlinghurst. Study for one or two weeks and choose from a variety of courses offered in the disciplines of Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Photomedia, Printmaking and Sculpture.
- Week 1 Early Fee Finishes Monday 5 December.
- Week 2 Early Fee Finishes Monday 12 December.
Best wishes from all the Visual Arts Department
It has been a highly productive and exciting year and we have loved witnessing the invention, exploration and deep thinking and analytical research and writing which is central to our subject, in our classrooms.
We look forward to hearing about the galleries and museums you have visited over the Summer, or the quiet moments you might take to draw or paint a lovely holiday destination.
Until we see you again in the New Year, best wishes from Ms Brennan, Ms Dawson, Ms Gleave, Ms Tesoriero, Ms Willems and Ms Jackson.
Merry Christmas from us all!
Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts
