A virtual exhibition featuring the work of Grade 12 and International Baccalaureate Visual Arts students from I.E. Weldon Secondary School in Lindsay, Ontario.

This exhibition showcases the work of the below list of students who, throughout their creative processes, independently selected materials, imagery, themes and ideas to explore through an inquiry-driven creative process.

Tisza Pal                                              

Lee-Ann Powell

Teaguen Morehead

Carter Reeson

Hailey Park

Heidi Traynor

Hillary Baker

Emmalee Dyck

Zoe Gray

Olivia Reevie

Nathan Kelly-Koebel

Julia Cossarin

Miranda Hill

Hope Sheahan

 The collection of work featured provides insights not only into the decisions each student made in their processes, but also a reflection on the selections we each make in our day to day lives.

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DIFFERENT TIMES

By Emmalee Dyck
Silkscreen print on organ sheet music
8.5” x 11”
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
This print is intended to highlight the similarities and differences between generations, symbolized by music. The action of printing on top of the older sheet music represents the simultaneous rejection and celebration of the music of the past by newer generations. The contrasting bright colours juxtapose the neutral, worn tones of the sheet music, showing the contrast between them. Not only does music change, but the way we listen to music changes and the accessibility of it today is more so than ever before, music is literally at our fingertips, the push of a button away.

BLUE PLANTS

By Lee-Ann Powell
Acrylic on canvas
18" x 24"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
I have decided to use the colour blue for my whole artwork because it represents the knowledge, power, peace, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, order, loyalty, sky, and water of all the plants that are represented in my painting.

BUTTERFLIES

By Olivia Reevie
Acrylic paint
18" x 24"
Not for Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
This is meant to show that there is a darker side to almost everything. Some people see butterflies as a beautiful animal while others may get upset at the sight of one. It’s meant to show that you truly don’t know why people act the way they do during certain events. The words are to show the chaos connected to the butterfly. Although it might not make sense to you, it does to the girl in the art work further showing you can’t fully understand people unless you have lived their life.

THE NIGHT SHIFT

By Hillary Baker
Spray Paint and acrylic on canvas
24" x 36"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
The Night Shift depicts a student in two different frames of process work. This piece reflects on artistic freedom when school confines us. We see the artist is creating art and is part of the art itself, showing that the artist will always put a part of themselves into their art. Graffiti has always been a way for people to express themselves through tagging or art. It allows one to step away from the binds of society and to express oneself.

THE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

By Hillary Baker
Spray Paint and acrylic on canvas
24" x 36"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
The After School Program depicts a student breaking into a new world of expression, the world of graffiti. This piece reflects on artistic freedom when school confines us. We see the artist is creating art and is part of the art itself, showing that the artist will always put a part of themselves into their art. Graffiti has always been a way for people to express themselves through tagging or art. It allows one to step away from the binds of society and to express oneself.

SELF-PORTRAIT

By Tisza Pal
Ink and gouache on watercolour paper
22" x 29"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
Inspired by Hope Gangloff’s portraiture, this piece is both a self portrait and contemplation on the role that political education plays within individuals and community, helping us not only better understand our current conditions, but how to approach and ultimately change them. I wanted to include Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed as it is one of my favourite pieces of writing and has had a significant impact on my own politics and understanding of the world.

NOSTALGIC HOPEFULNESS AND INEVITABLE DISAPPOINTMENT

By Hailey Park
Coloured pencils on paper
16" x 20"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
This drawing is meant to represent the disconnect between nostalgia and reality. Inspired by the ‘House Hippo’ PSA and its attempt to educate children on critical thinking skills and to question the media they are being presented with. This is replicated in the art by presenting an image of joyful playfulness and childhood nostalgia which is associated with the continuation of play, however, upon closer examination the piece has no sense of permanence or movement and is stuck as a specific moment of time in the past. Presented also in a photorealistic art style furthering the sense of overlap between something tangible and concrete and an illusive childhood memory of old children’s toys.

A VANDALIZED SHARK

By Nathan Kelly-Koebel
Bristol board, Exact-O-Knife, tape and spray paint on canvas
74cm x 54cm
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
I wanted to explore the issue of shark finning, represented by how the shark is fragmented and how its fin is separated from its body.

SEASIDE MEETING

By Heidi Traynor
Acrylic on canvas
18" x 24"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
This is meant to convey a feeling of peace or content by placing yourself in the serene environment created by the small textured brush strokes. it’s seemingly perfect setting was done to create a dream like escape from reality. The woman seen in the image is an implied personification of the small lamb beside her, with her soft rounded shape shown by the volume of her dress and the large mess of curls.

GARDEN OF THE PSYCHE

By Teaguen Morehead
Watercolour and India Ink on Paper
9" x 12"

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
The left figure symbolizes the current self, sorrowful and mournful, with an Amaranthus Caudatus flower being the imagery behind it. The right figure symbolizes the future and guidance, with a Protea flower accompanying them. Inspired by my own journey with my gender and transgender hurdles, I showed my gratification of my other trans mentors in this piece. The astronomical imagery references a journey.

CONTAINED EMOTION

By Carter Reeson
Acrylic on canvas
36" x 24"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
I painted a self portrait, capturing my different emotional states in a collective setting. In black I am presented emotionless, red symbolizes anger and blue: sadness. With the values and shadows of the face there is realism, but staying to one colour I am expressive with my brush strokes. Expressing my emotional states in this composition through these brush strokes. This gave myself perspective on my emotion and mental health, leaving me to further question my mind.

THE SPIDER'S LABYRINTH

By Julia Cossarin
India ink and marker on illustration board
15" x 11"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
I wanted to explore the theme of identity. The spider is symbolic of the part of our subconscious mind that dictates who we are and how we present ourselves to the world. The web is an inescapable labyrinth through which only the spider can navigate. This labyrinth is representative of the complexity of our minds. Is it impossible for us to truly alter the core of our identity without tapping into some deeply rooted force?

OFF THE WORLD

By Zoe Gray
Acrylic on canvas
14" x 11"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
This painting was inspired by Stephen Gibb, he incorporates small planets with rather large surreal characters and objects. The idea that there are thousands of planets puts our significance into perspective. We as a society naively overestimate our size and worth. I used a city to compare to the earth representing that we are just one in thousands. I used black as a background to contrast the city and stairs in an attempt to compare the city to a planet.

TATTOO SKULL

By Hope Sheahan
Watercolour and sharpie on watercolour paper
18" x 24"
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
This work explores the contrasts between dull and light colours in a sense that the girl shows herself in black and white but she is actually a happy person and the background shows what she is feeling. I really liked the spider webs on the background to make the background relate more with the girl. The spider webs on the girls cheek bones show that she is one with the background deep down. I chose to give her skull tattoos to show that she can only express herself by tattoos and piercings.

THE BIRDS

By Miranda Hill
Watercolour, linoleum stamps, sharpie
28 x 22 cm
Not For Sale

ABOUT MY ARTWORK:
This scene depicts a symbolized picture of depression. The dark, black birds sitting inside the skull of, and flying around, the figure are a symbol for their depression making its way into other people's lives. I chose to use watercolour because I thought it would make a good contrast between the linoleum stamps and sharpie. The colours I chose for the figure include washed out greens, browns, and greys. These colours cause an alien-like tinge, representing the figure changing into a different person. I added faded grey lines throughout the painting to represent the chaos of being trapped in your head.