A R T I S T I C
H A R R O V I A N
Untitled by Bill Wu This piece was done in pencil and marker. I was inspired by the 'back in my day' jokes, which refer to how difficult it was in that person’s childhood. It links to childhood memories and reminds me of how relaxed they seem compared to the present. It's based on how much more complicated things are when you are an adult compared to when you were a child. I drew whatever came to mind and if things made me feel happy I would place them on the 'childhood' part, and I put the sad/boring memories on the 'man' part.
Bonded Memories by Bill Wu Part 1: I thought of making a split painting, and thought that knowledge vs fun was a good idea Part 2: I drew the handshake, and started adding sketches of things that I thought related to the themes on each side. Part 3: After finishing most of my sketches I started to fineline and colour them in. Part 4: I erased the pencil and coloured it in fully Part 5: I added the borders
Untitled by Richard Xu Playing Pokemon inspired me to draw this. I tried to catch a Pokemon, however it used up a third of my 'Pokeballs', so I killed it. This is what is depicted in this piece. This piece of artwork is from the perspective of the Pokemon and shows its bad memories from this experience.
Untitled by Lavender Lam This piece is inspired by the memories of playing my favourite video game ‘Genshin Impact’. It is done in pencil on paper and I chose this character because she is my favourite to play in the game.
n o i s u f n Co
In this piece I brought together some common bad memories, and events that can greatly impact one’s life. I like the people's hair, and how I displayed different times of the person’s life through colours and emotions. But I dislike how it doesn’t really look like my first plans.
by Tiffany Pan
This is a digital piece which shows how memories can be confusing. Here, the person has been filled with grief, sorrows beyond repair, and now they refuse to acknowledge the present, and keep trying to go back to the past, resulting in more pain and grief. The colours are the most symbolic. There are hints of pink in the yellow person- yellow symbolises happiness, whilst pink represents love, so the yellow person is falling in love, which is making them happy. The blue person has hints of purple- blue is symbolic of sadness, and although purple, when presented with lighter colours, means wisdom and bravery, when it is combined with darker colours it can represent sorrow and frustration. This was the theme I was trying to present. Then the middle person, is a mix of both sides, but you can also see the red, which means anger, and that mixed with frustration has driven the person mad.
OVERWHELMED by Dariya Neklyudova This is a digital piece in which I wanted to represent the feeling of being overtaken by a lot of emotions due to overflowing memories/ trauma. I took several different angles of multiple different expressions to see which ones looked the most distinct, as well as worked well with the others. I had to decide how many emotions I was going to include and allocate a colour to each one. PTSD is a mental disorder in which you are essentially haunted by traumatic memories of the past. I wanted to raise awareness about mental health in general as it is greatly affected by memory, so chose this one as a basis. I like the contrast between the black and white central figure/ black background and the vibrant colours of the emotions. Each face represents a common emotion (ie. Anger, happiness, fear, and sadness). When emotions flood a person's brain due to an excessive amount of memories to process it can be overwhelming, causing a person to shut down. For this piece I wanted to show that not all memories are pleasant, so need to be approached with care when talked about.
Frame of a Dream by Leo Tse This is a mixed media piece (watercolour background with digital drawing on top). Memories can often be captured in many ways including with polaroids - an iconic symbol of nostalgia. I thought it would be interesting to try to incorporate them along with the image of a dream which can not be captured. Most of the time, dreams get forgotten after a single day or less, so what if you could capture them with a polaroid? The whole idea of polaroids is to preserve memory and create a physical representation of old times, whereas dreams come and go, most of the time without having lasting memories. Alongside the contrast of the themes, my message is enhanced by the contrasting artistic styles. The unrefined and rough style of the skeleton contrasts with the smooth and clean style of the clothes and the items in the skull. The first polaroid symbolises my hobbies and dreams, with the items in the skull representing my hobbies and interests. The nuclear explosion in vibrant colours around the skeleton contrasts with the skull creating a sense of surrealism. The red moon depicts a memorable nightmare from my childhood that has remained with me, and represents nightmares for me.
Reminiscence Reminiscence by Annie Yiu
The conventional view is that memories are beautiful and nostalgic. However, I thought that memories could also turn painful and bitter. I attempted to translate that thought into this artwork. Memories usually have positive connotations, however this artwork explores the negative connotations that memories can have. The title 'reminiscence’ is ironic, as to reminisce about something is to remember something fondly, however this woman’s memories have become more painful than fond. I like the contrast between the simplistic style of the flowers and the realistic style of the woman. I dislike how much time I spent on this artwork.
This artwork portrays the ugly side of the memories that are usually more taboo, that everyone has but no one wants to talk about. The simple style of the flowers portray the beauty of memories however the bleeding woman represents how beautiful memories can also become painful. The woman is also glaring, representing that memories can turn into resentment and spite. Red often symbolises anger and anguish, which is why I chose to use this colour a lot throughout the artwork.
Nostalgia by Vanessa Ho The title of this piece is called Nostalgia, and I created it digitally on iPad. What inspired me to create this piece is a few old photos that my grandparents dug out one day when they were decluttering. One of the photos reminded me of a side street in Hong Kong where people knew each other well- sitting outside their shops, playing mahjong, chit-chatting, etc. Those folks had a close community and strong bond. That gave me a wave of nostalgia as I remembered going there when I was younger so I wanted to capture this ecstatic warmth and caring atmosphere among neighbours and families. I deliberately kept the background dull as memories in movies are usually portrayed as yellow and grainy with people as the focal points. I observe that when people recall their memories, they often focus on the people they were with and what they were doing at a certain point in time. All the surroundings seem to have faded out and been forgotten. I believed that when the mother and daughter saw the old ladies chatting happily, they would remember similar experiences that they had in the past. SImilarly, when the old ladies saw the mother and the daughter walking by, they would remember things when they were young or when they were with their mothers.
Reminiscence of a Bad Memory by Vanessa Ho I wanted to draw something more negative about memories because when the word 'memory' is mentioned, I immediately associate it with positive thoughts. I wanted to switch things up a bit. I then realised that instead of just keeping it negative and positive, I wanted to find a balance between the two: the grey area. Not just black and white, but also finding a balance between them and accepting it with open arms. I wanted to depict the commotion of memories - the instant hit of a memory, whether bad or good, clouding minds. From my perspective, when I try to think of some other happy thought, a more negative memory is stuck in my mind. I wanted to show that even though negative memories or past experiences are just memories, they still could be noticeable. At first glance, this piece bombards us with vibrant, saturated colours from the flowers and the lines and dashes. This shows that the memory is still there, vivid as ever but I wanted to show that even if we are thinking about a negative experience or memory, we can learn from it. As the saying goes: learn from mistakes. Why not learn from past experiences too? Therefore, I drew the buildings in darker colours, representing the growth people could reach by learning from bad memories etc. The vibrant flowers are also there, growing and flourishing, but are still a reminder of the negative side of the bad memories. This is because flowers shrivel up easily. We need to take good care of them, just like we need to remind ourselves to grow from unpleasant memories. The snake is dotted around the piece, as snakes are controversial. This is because, in the western world, snakes are depicted as evil animals that are sly and deceptive but many Chinese families believe that snakes are a symbol of honour. I wanted to show that negative memories, or thoughts, could be positive if we learn from them. If we imagine the piece without the bright flowers and lines and dashes, the piece would be stripped to hues of blue. Blue could show connotations of sadness and loneliness. I wanted to show that those memories will not just become positive with a snap of the fingers or without a change in mindset. You can grow from them, though. Throughout years of doing that (hence the three faces I drew), I realised that you can find a way to accept bad memories and learn from them. I do like the contrast in the piece with the different colours and different textures but wish I had added more texture to the face in the middle and the face to the right to show the age differences. Overall, It symbolises bad memories and how they aren’t as bad as they are made out to be.
s i s y l a n A Art The Persistence of Memory Salvador Dali (1931)
The Persistence of Memory was created by Salvador Dalí, a famous Spanish surrealist painter, in 1931 using oil paints. It was said that Dalí hallucinated the whole scene before painting it. Hence, The Persistence of Memory exists as a type of dream photograph deliberately designed to perturb the viewer through its hyper-realistic images juxtaposed against impossible and dreamlike visions. The painting depicts what is believed to be a self-portrait which is draped with a melting watch which Dalí called a ‘soft watch’. While the watches are widely thought to symbolise the omnipresence of time, Dalí always associated them with a French cheese: He referred to them as the ‘camembert of time’, hinting that their softness demonstrates that the hard and sturdy concept of time essentially loses all meaning in the unconscious world. As he depicts the clocks as dripping, Dalí brings in the element of expectations and how the viewers would have expected to see a solid, sturdy watch that would be able to tell the time. Instead, we are met with a melted version that undermines this expectation. There are also ants crawling on the pocket watch in the way they would with decaying flesh, attracted by death and rot. These objects in the painting are all familiar but distorted or changed. It could symbolise a time which the artist wanted to move on and forget as the ants could be overwhelming and uncomfortable to look at for some people.
The misshapen face sleeping in the centre of the piece doesn’t actually look like a human face at first glance, but if you look closely, you can see the thin wisp of a moustache with long eyelashes lining the closed eyes which could suggest that the creature is in a dream state.The iconography may be from a dream that Dalí himself had experienced, and therefore the clocks may symbolize the passing of time as one experiences it in sleep or the persistence of time in the eyes of the dreamer.
The piece as a whole has a very dream-like realistic feel. This is because of his use of colour and how he doesn’t use very bright or vibrant colours but darker and saturated. There’s an equal balance of warm and cool tones bringing the piece together, with the more hazy, eerie look. The mountains at the back show a combination of light and darkness mixed with colour rather than only black to create this style. These mountains were actually what made Dalí a star. He painted these mountains in a fishing village, trying to encapsulate the beauty of the mountains found in the Cap de Creus peninsula and the nearby Mount Pani. These mountains bring the confusing perspective of the painting into thought as no one can be certain how far or close they are. However, Dali primarily used this landscape as a backdrop and means of creating a clear visual space for the surreal story taking place.
Unlike The Disintegration of Memory (also created by Dalí), where the block is divided into brick-like shapes that float in relation to each other with nothing binding them, the block in The Persistence of Memory is one whole, which brings a more calm presence to the piece. It also gives a three-dimensional illusion to this piece, bringing alive the piece as a whole.
The clocks themselves make The Persistence of Memory an iconic piece and have been emulated and parodied in popular culture as well. This piece is one of Salvador Dalí’s most recognizable works of Surrealism and is still treasured today in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Analysis by Vanessa Ho
Black and White by Joyce Huang
This is a digital drawing inspired by the memory of ancient China. I was inspired my the fashion from that era and wanted to use black and white to create a vintage look.
A Day at Stanley Park by Bethany Kerr This is a digital piece. I decided to block in the large colours then move into more detail. I have very few memories of my childhood living in England; however, my memories of this park are very distinct. I like how the light shines through the trees, however I dislike the texture and lack of detail of the ground. Overall this digital piece of artwork symbolises my childhood memories.
Memory by Yutong Yan This piece is called Memory and I used oil paint and acrylic. This piece is about contrast. I used more gray-based tones to do the skyscrapers to contrast with the vivid colours of nature (eg the sky, ocean, mountains, and flowers). The boat in the ocean and the skyscrapers also contrast as the skyscrapers represent the new, modern improvements of Hong Kong, whereas the boat embodies the rich historical past of Hong Kong. Human memory is known to be unreliable and therefore, the white part of the canvas is the part of the memory that is slowly being forgotten. This contrasts with the details of the left side of the canvas. Sometimes we remember things that weren’t really there, and this is represented by the flowers growing on the buildings, which also creates contrast and links back to the theme of memory.
I’m Bored by Rachel Li This piece represents the feeling of boredom and the sense of limbo where you forget what you are doing. The spiral within the girl’s eye shows that she is in a trance of some sort as spirals are often associated with hypnosis. This further brings forth the idea as when you are bored you usually go into an auto pilot mode. I used a pastel and purple toned colour palette to reflect the dull and monotonous nature of life. This is related to the idea of memories as it represents the moments where your consciousness and memory goes elsewhere especially when you are not present in the moment.
I asked one of my friends what the word memory made him think about, and he replied, “friends relaxing by a campfire recalling memories… but then the person finds out the friend is imaginary and they shed a tear as they look into the stars and smile.'' After a long time of deliberating I finally decided I’ll work on this suggestion. At first I wanted to draw the girl as a ghost saying ‘do you remember me?’, but then I really like the idea of friends who aren’t actually nearby (similar to the situation of the pandemic) so I changed my idea. I also wanted to use this chance to try out the new watercolour technique and art style I’ve learnt, so I created this piece.
Remember Me? by Cynthia Li The little pictures surrounding the character in the middle tell the story of how she met her best friend. Something awful happened, symbolised by the butterfly the friend is trying to catch. When the character went to hug her and prevent her from going away she realised that she’s just a memory and she’s gone already. Using both watercolour and coloured pencil worked out really well, and I really like the colour combination of the drawing but in some of the little pictures the face of the character is a bit uneven and I think I can do better. The last picture also failed to convey the strong sad emotions of the characters. The two kinds of flowers symbolise memory and the two characters. Butterflies symbolise leaving and the soul (because butterflies have such a short life). The little doodles behind the character in the middle are all the different little memories. The yellow character left the blue character, but the little bit of yellow shading at the ends of her hair symbolises that the yellow character will live on with her as a memory.
Untitled
by Zoe Zhang
This piece is supposed to represent a memory from my childhood. I used a pencil to draw it out, then I used watercolour pencils to wet the paper, producing watercolour.
Untitled by Prima Wong I drew this in a style that is semi realistic. This is because your memories are real, but at the same time like a dream. It symbolises memory, some petals bright and new, some wilted and forgotten. I used a pencil to do a rough sketch, then coloured it in with coloured pencils, using watercolour pencils for the sky. The thought that anything could be related to memory inspired me to make it. I doodle flowers sometimes, so I came up with this idea.
Untitled by Mellisa Liu
by Rachel Li This piece is a depiction of a dream I had a long time ago. Many parts of the dream are still unclear, portrayed by the pastel smoke obscuring the features of the character. However, the parts that I remember were vivid, almost like a comic, which is why I decided to compose the piece as if it were a page out of a manga. I used saturated colours as it is unrealistic and to show the absurdity of the dream.
Doorway of Memories by Bernice Ho
This piece of artwork is a digital painting called Doorway of Memories. When I first saw this topic, my initial reaction was to do something quite magical. To do so, I chose the setting to be the sky. Doorway of Memories depicts a young girl feeling very depressed and is going through all of her memories during summer and winter. The memories are represented by the photographs of different items and activities which include skiing, ice cream, and a snowman, among others. Also, the doorway is split into two with contrasting backgrounds showing summer and winter. I really enjoy the process of painting this piece of artwork and am most proud of the summer and winter background in the doorway since it’s very realistic and the seasons contrast with one another. However, if I were to do this again, I would put more effort into the girl and spent more time drawing her features. Through this piece of artwork, I want to convey the message that when you are sad or feeling down, you should try recalling all the amazing memories you had. This will cheer you up and you will realise you are very lucky.
Book of Memories by Mya Ip This piece was created digitally and portrays a girl who is writing down her memories. The stars depicted represent each of her memories. Despite not being very satisfied with how I drew the girl, I liked the way I shaded the illustration and made it look almost threedimensional.
Paisley
by Ambi Matharu Art Prefect
This painting represents the fragility of memory. It was inspired by the ceramicist Johnson Tsang, and his surrealist sculptures. Porcelain is one of the most delicate forms of clay, and requires immense skill to mould - I decided to construct this composition to represent how memory can be tainted, and embellished, and made to look beautiful (as demonstrated by the patterns on the vase-like section), but also are delicate and can easily be broken - like porcelain. This was also inspired by an African Artist: Wangechi Mutu, who heavily incorporated cultural elements into her work. The paisley symbol on the vase is the symbol for my name: Ambi, in my mother tongue. I thought this link was significant in representing myself, my culture, and how things like a mother tongue can easily be forgotten and lost (currently, I only remember fragments of my mother tongue). My identity is based on the memories I have, and this oil painting (on raw canvas) captures the time we have endured, coming out of the other side of enduring the pandemic.
Childish Imagination BY CHLOE LAU I planned to do a self portrait of my younger self and halfway through, I realised that the background was a bit empty, so I added the animals and a new background. I remember always play acting with my sister when we were younger. Being imaginative as children was one of the best ways to pass time and that’s what I wanted to convey in this painting. I like that it’s bright and colourful however, I dislike that the colour scheme seems to clash. Overall this painting symbolises the freedom of being lost in one's imagination.
Untitled by Kiki Xie I created a sketch of this picture for planning, which helps me to understand the photograph better. It allows me to understand the light and tone better, before painting. I think memory is the ability to mentally recall a particular moment. I personally feel that most of my treasured memories are from my childhood. I liked how I used space with contrasting colours. Also, the colours and tone used where the hair is painted are pretty accurate. I think that more tone showing the light could have been better. Whenever I recall these memories, it always brings a smile to my face. It doesn’t matter if it was a moment of sadness or joy - they’re all very special to me. This painting of me in Italy also demonstrates that traveling is a part of my identity.
Eye See the Memory by Kayla Kan My artwork reflects the concept of memories. It shows an eye with a tear slipping down, which is meant to indicate someone looking back at past moments. In the background there are lots of colourful blocks supposed to represent each individual memory. I like the bright colours used in the background but I think the eye could be more detailed and shaded darker. I chose bright colours to show that the person is looking at joyful memories. Each of the boxes is a different size depending on how important or memorable they are to her.
by Megan Siu
Into Into the the Psyche Psyche by by Megan Megan Siu Siu
This piece is an artist response to Blu Moo, an artist who is best known for creating psychedelic and retro graphics. This is a visual representation of an experience with sleep paralysis. The memory of this episode, despite being negative, is represented here with bright and vibrant colours to symbolise the beauty of trauma and the idea of a ‘beautiful mess’. I like the concept behind the piece and the execution of the shapes and their placement. However, I could improve the piece by establishing more variation between the colours as some of the colours may appear too similar to one another and could potentially cause a merging effect. This piece symbolises the beauty of trauma as the vibrant colours and patterns represent the idea of trauma reflecting one’s individuality as you are essentially the only person who has gone through certain personal experiences.
ON AIR
by Janis Yip
Past success by Chise Iwakawa Mediums: Pencils, watercolour paint I wanted to draw something positive about memory, so I decided to draw along the theme of past accomplishments. I took the time to consider the significance behind each colour: blue is associated with confidence linking to the confidence gained from achieving something in the past. Purple is often used to symbolise bravery. Any accomplishment needs you to be brave to start. Pink represents kindness, but in my case, is something very detailed. Often an accomplishment is related to competing, which would definitely lead to jealousy from at least one person, but the kindness and sportsmanship linked to that would then lead to this colour. Green is associated with the theme of youth relating back to the idea of past accomplishments. Yellow represents joy and happiness, and by including it, I wanted to show the aspect of the joy coming with accomplishing something. I have made a branched theme of past accomplishments to draw with. I like how I was able to blend the watercolour. I feel like I could’ve peeled the masking ink better. It symbolises past accomplishments.
by Elisa Xu
This is a digital drawing I made. I planned to draw film tapes wrapped around the person because I’m very interested in photography and I like to work with films to record my life. Meanwhile, when I was searching for ideas, I saw a photograph of ‘film glass’. I like this idea so I merged it with my initial wrapping concept. Negative films will have images after the development, whereas the physical film tapes that we can hold on to will throw us back to the moment when we take the photo, this would bring us flashbacks and memories. I like the idea of film tapes wrapping around an image of myself because I like to record my daily life with films. I’m very interested in photography and the vintage style of presenting my perspective towards the world, so I decided to use the idea of film tape wrapping ‘myself’ as stuck but meanwhile enjoy dealing with the memories. The film tapes symbolise my memories when I shoot the frame of the image, and the wrapping shows my struggle but both enjoying the memories that keep flashing back to me.
Past and Present by Lutina Kwok I created this piece using several different media: watercolour for the background, fineliner for the buildings, and Copic marker for the shadows. I wanted to do a comparison between past and present. At first, I thought I could draw a scene but then I decided it was a better idea to do a collage of what makes past Hong Kong what it is and the same for present Hong Kong. This links to the theme of memory as I drew a collage of each side being past Hong Kong and current Hong Kong showing the contrast between the two. I grew up in Hong Kong so when we were given the task to do something related to memory I thought this was a good idea.
Youth by Dariya Neklyudova This is a pencil drawing I did of my grandma, based on a picture of her in her 20s. It therefore represents the memories of her youth. Despite her being 81 now, she still has that energetic youthful feeling about her, especially as she tells us stories of her past, and I feel that this sketch evokes her energetic personality
Untitled by Reika Oh
Exploring the theme of memory, I created a digital drawing of my baby shoes that my mom found while cleaning the house. Although I have no recollection of when I was a toddler, my mom fondly told me about buying them in New York before I was born.
TIME’S EFFECT
by Charles Wu
To produce this piece of artwork, I found a photo of myself when I was younger and took a photo of myself now to use as my references. I then drew a face with half of it from younger reference photo and the other half from the reference of myself now. This links to the theme of memory because looking at my younger self I remembered lots of events that happened in the past. Looking at images of myself side by side, I could see how I have changed and what time has done to my appearance. I think one effective aspect of my work was the composition: the two faces are side by side making it easy to see the physical differences. This symbolises the effect of time and looking back at how I have changed. It also symbolises the idea that no matter how much you have changed you are still the same person, which is shown by the faces showing similarities. It reminds me of how my appearance and mind have both changed, yet I am still myself.
Toy Shelf by Cindy Jiang I see memory as a feeling of nostalgia. Nostalgia is a comfortable nest that we keep crawling back to. It represents something warm and tender that we used to have in the 'good old days'. When we feel nostalgia, we miss the happy past, one that is certainly idealised, but truly did exist. Nostalgia, as an emotion, can be developed in a person in different ways. It could be a smell of some scent that triggers a memory from the past; it could be a toy that reminds you of your childhood with just one glimpse. Toys, to me, are representative of 'memory' with significant emotional attachment. That's why I created this toy shelf that symbolises the general memory of vintage toys that people used to love and still do. Toys themselves can create nostalgic connections with people. The excitement of having them for the first time as a kid should be recreated by a form of art. I like the bold colours and cartoonish painting style used. It would be better to have a finer outline and even have a three-dimensional effect. This toy shelf symbolises childhood memory and the strong emotional attachment people have for their loved toys.
Garden of Sparkling Memories by Michelle Lui
I was thinking about how precious memories are to us, and associated this preciousness with sparkling gems and crystals. Notice that crystals shine under the light just like how sometimes memories just randomly pop into our heads. I wanted to add something elegant into the composition and therefore included the creature in the spotlight, a butterfly, as their elegance is depicted through the beautiful patterns on their wings. I thought perhaps the butterfly could be pollinating crystal flowers and sparkling memories, and that pushed me to create my first sketch. I added a few details here and there along the way that weren't in my initial idea. Each and every one of us has had some great memories this year, despite some of it being on Zoom. I often thought about the times I had with my friends before Zoom came this year. It was amazing to see them all in person, I had so much fun. But that’s all changed, and it’s so different. I felt like a butterfly pollinating flowers, searching for bright memories of the past. I rarely draw crystals, so this time I got to explore my style further. Every piece of art of mine is like an experiment to see how I use different media. I also really liked the doodle style patterns I put on the butterfly’s wings to make it look more detailed. They took ages but I’d say it was worth the time. I think it could’ve been better though, with the lighting and shading. Unfortunately, I hit the maximum layer limit (91) on Procreate (digital drawing app) so I couldn’t add anything extra. We are the butterfly, pollinating the flowers for old memories. Each memory could tell us something about ourselves, sometimes shape our personality, hence why I made the butterfly’s wings so ornate. The memories we made are so precious and so intricate, they’re embedded within a part of us somehow. In the butterfly’s case, the memories it pollinated are added to its wings. The hourglasses symbolise time and that the sands are constantly falling. Time doesn’t wait for our memories to be made. (You might be able to spot a few words in the patterns, and figure out which colour symbolises what!)
Life
by Ashley Mak This piece was created with black, red, blue pens and paint. This links to the theme of memory because it reminds me of when I was little, everything seemed huge to me. I was about 4-5 in a botanical nature park when I saw these beautiful beetles and bees like nothing I had ever seen. I could see the transparent wings and the thousand eyes they had. I could see the details of their skin and its claws. They were so colourful and vibrant amongst the leaves and the flowers. I can still remember this now, since it was a beautiful sight and probably still my favourite. I like that this piece of artwork shows nature through the eyes of a young child through the vibrant colours. Everything is clear and precise and detailed. As we grow older, we are expected to understand and observe, yet it is harder to do that if you were not observant as a child. Overall, this is symbolic of cherishing childhood memories and times where we found everything interesting and exciting.
Untitled by Kristina Tong I thought it would be nice to have a piece that showcased nostalgia, looking back on old memories and reminiscing. This is what my artwork is about. It is symbolic of reminiscing about missed opportunities in life. I think the monochromatic aspect of this piece is effective however there are still aspects I feel I could improve in the future.
Feel old yet? by Mya Ip
This piece of digital art depicts a woman looking back at when she was little and everything was simple. I like the concept of my idea of an older girl looking out at another little girl, which symbolises her young self. She is reflecting on her past.
by Ambi Matharu Art Prefect
Remembering Hong Kong I chose to produce this piece to represent the sense of loss felt when leaving a place like Hong Kong indefinitely. As I graduate, I will move from the diverse and vibrant Hong Kong, to England. The girl in the drawing (Stephanie) will do the same, and so the piece represents the memory of Hong Kong that will stay with us forever. The idea sparked when I was walking along the Gold Coast Hotel front, and looked at the pond of Koi fish - I had fond memories watching the fish swim around, naming them and making up backstories for them as I saw each one go by. As I am not experienced with digital drawing, but have the materials to produce a digital drawing, I decided this would be a good opportunity to practice these skills. To start, I chose someone to draw - I had practised drawing Stephanie’s face through coursework and therefore thought the photographs I had of her would be good references for this piece. I didn’t have references for the Koi fish so I experimented with drawing them in a very illustrative way. I explored the use of different tools and brushes on Procreate to create the water effect making it look like she is in a bowl of water with the fish. My process was very abrupt - I thought of an idea and immediately started drawing it, developing it as I went along. If I could develop it further, I would add more dimension to her face - the blue is supposed to show how she is distinct from anyone else- almost alienated, leaving her home and moving across the world. The piece is supposed to represent the anxiety about uplifting one’s life and moving away, alongside symbolising the reminiscence and permanent memory of life in Hong Kong. The Koi represent the freedom and colour Hong Kong offers us, with the few leaving the bowl showing our gradual exploration to other parts of the world, and our growth. This drawing demonstrates one of my fond memories of Hong Kong: sitting by the pond and watching the Koi fish swim by.
Distortion by Dariya Neklyudova This is a gouache piece I created. I wanted to explore the effects of distortion on a body and the feelings of entrapment that arise from them. I explored different colour schemes as well as statue references I could use before settling on the final one. I wanted this piece to represent the distortion of time and the way that it can change memory, as well as how important memories can be forgotten. I like the contrast of the colours in the piece. The central statue represents the human condition. The distortion of the painting symbolises the different views that everyone has on the world and how it changes them as an individual. Everyone has different experiences, but something that all people have in common, is that no one can stand the test of time. All that will remain is a memory.
k n a h T ! u o y !
Edited by Ambi Matharu, Dariya Neklyudova and Rachel Li March 2022