Artifex

THE ARTS

ARTIFEX

ARTIFEX

This year’s Artifex was Charterhouse’s eighth and biggest ever. With all Covid restrictions lifted, we were able to see the return of all the ‘classic’ Artifex events in their usual venues and with no need for social distancing. This led to the return of Cinema on the Ceiling in Chapel. Ever popular, each night saw pupils flood through the doors to lie down on the Chapel floor to watch a range of films from Licorice Pizza to 1917 (most appropriate given Chapel’s foundation as a war memorial) all curated by Daniel Cross (R), Emmett Baker (R) and Felix Hughes (B). We look forward to more films from this team of pupil experts at our annual film festival in OQ 2022.

The Cardboard Gallery, designed and built by Binmo Chen (Su) was an innovative, beautiful structure housing a small collection of carefully selected objects and works. This was one of the most original works we have ever seen in Artifex.

Our annual Inter-House Pushcart Competition, a core Artifex event, challenges each House to construct and decorate a cart roadworthy enough to survive our two-lap course around the ‘Old School’ site. This year saw a fiercely competitive series of races, with P, S, W, G, D, and L reaching the Final. Some less than successful changeovers and a little oversteering allowed Pageites to take the lead for a clear victory over Gownboys in second.

Houses got other chances to show their creative mettle in our House Quiz (won by Chetwynd), Inter-House Gaming – co-ordinated by Ademurewa King (g) – and House Debating competitions. The latter was an impressive debate between Pageites and Girdlestoneites on the topic of accessibility of Oxbridge entry to private schools – certainly not a lighthearted topic, but one which elicited impassioned speeches. Dr Peterken, Mr Byrne and Miss Jones, sitting in judgement, decided in favour of Pageites in a closely fought battle of wits. Each year Artifex brings with it the finest works from our A-Level students in their annual art exhibition. It was a fitting way to say goodbye to a group of artists who have greatly enriched the creative life of our community. We also had a number of ‘pop-up’ exhibitions taking place, organised by our 1YS. The Cardboard Gallery, designed and built by Binmo Chen (Su) was an innovative, beautiful structure housing a small collection of carefully selected objects and works. This was one of the most original works we have ever seen in Artifex, but this originality was equally matched by Eddie Chai (R) and Jordan Zhuo (R) who formulated a challenging, complex exhibition in Concert Hall called The Overlooked. Through photography and poetry, the exhibition considered the people that society too frequently ignores, the people on the side-lines. Using cloth and projections which made deft use of Concert Hall’s ‘white box’ structure, this made a great pair with Binmo’s Cardboard Gallery.

It is abundantly clear that Charterhouse is a rich cradle of creativity, celebrating the arts with unbridled enthusiasm and embracing diversity and openness to new ideas. Artifex is an engine for change and stands as a symbol of all that is great about Charterhouse.

Other popular events included our very first Artifex Pub Quiz, organised by Theo Needs (B) with quiz-mastering from Mr Byrne, and our very own version of Would I Lie To You (the popular BBC game show). This was efficiently put together by Thomas Byrne (g) and hosted by the inimitable Mr Tink. It was a delightful way to learn some unsettling truths whilst also highlighting the dissembling powers of some of our pupils (!)

Workshops continued to be popular, with tickets to classes on Sugar Art (with renowned expert, Michelle Wibowo), tea blending (with Bird and Blend Teas), sushi-making and samba, often selling out within minutes. As ever, our hardworking Artifex Cafe and Ice Cream Shack teams continued to make delicious treats for everyone to enjoy on a summer’s evening. The Colour Run saw dozens of pupils engage in a protracted mess-making activity, resulting in some creative photography ably co-ordinated by Devishi Gupta (Su), Prisha Haria-Shah (Su) and Christian Paasch (R). C’house Got Talent returned for another year, coordinated by Xavier Currill (R), Kirstie Kwakye (Su) and Liv Camacho Wejbrandt (N), giving us a smashing Friday night celebration of the best Carthusian performers.

Drama Artifex 2022 brought us a rich range of theatrical enterprises this year. Fleur Hinchcliffe (N) and Aomi Hiroi (Su) co-ordinated a special collection of musical theatre performances in Want Want Want, with songs from Billy Elliot, Wicked and The Heathers, among many others! The show also integrated dance routines from our increasingly enthusiastic dance community, ably guided by Phillippa Hogan and her school of dance.

As far as we can tell, Founder’s Chapel has never been used for a performance of Edward II, but Artifex 2022 offered the premiere performance of Marlowe’s play in this special School venue. Directed by Ciarán O’Lionaird (C), this was a confident production of a complex work with great performances from a committed pupil cast, as well as Miss Galton-Ayling and Mr Tink.

There has never been more drama in Artifex, and audiences were greatly enriched by the selection of scenes from An Inspector Calls delivered by our ever-growing number of GCSE Drama students, as well as the gathering of LAMDA candidates giving renditions of monologues and duologues by the fireside, deep in the woods. The theatrical life of Charterhouse is at a moment of real growth. Music Punctuating the Artifex programme with reassuring regularity, the dual series of concerts (Coffee Concerts and Concerts in the Cloister) provided a rich menu of music. Audiences were serenaded by our Junior Jazz Band, Senior Sax Quartet, String Quartet (with Haydn and Hummel), as well as our vocal consort (continuing to celebrate Vaughan Williams amongst other repertoire) and a lovely recital by a handful of our guitarists to conclude on Artifex Saturday.

One of the great musical highlights was Jazz in the Dome which afforded us the opportunity to bid a musical farewell to Taki Ejima-Dalley (V). One of our most talented musicians, Taki performed alongside a drummer and bassist from the University of Surrey, playing the piano and leading the trio with expert ease. He held his own among more experienced players, his accomplished improvisations indicative of someone with a great future ahead of him as a musician. This was a truly remarkable concert, easy to mistake for a professional gig, and a highlight not just of Artifex, but of the entire musical year.

The climax of Artifex 2022 was our Prom in the Park, hosted by Theo Needs. With a heady selection of musical theatre numbers, as well as some of the finest classical music from ensemble performances throughout the week, this was a wonderful way to mark what Artifex 2022 had achieved. The concert was bookended by rousing ensemble numbers from the casts of Fame and Les Mis. There were solo performances from pupils across the School, each bringing their own style to their chosen number. A violin quartet comprised of Messrs Huang, Chai, Choy and Liu stunned audiences, while the superb trio of Eamon Lam (H), Horace Choi (G) and Claire Wang (Su) performed Mendelssohn’s Concertstucke no.2.

As always, Artifex would not be possible without the extraordinary commitment of our pupil leaders, their beaks (especially Miss Fox, Mr Sutton, Mr Monkman, Mr Boulton and Mr Hooper) and the best support staff in the business who kept the machine well-oiled throughout the week.

This year more than ever, we saw far larger audiences at Artifex events. The ongoing transformation in the creative energy of the School is palpable. With 2022 being the 150th anniversary of Vaughan-Williams’ birth, one wonders whether the events of this past week may have ignited a similar creative spark in some of our present-day Carthusians. The real effects of this week on the brilliant young people participating, leading, performing and co-ordinating will not be felt until well into the future. It is abundantly clear that Charterhouse is a rich cradle of creativity, celebrating the arts with unbridled enthusiasm and embracing diversity and openness to new ideas. Artifex is an engine for change and stands as a symbol of all that is great about Charterhouse.

HOUSE GRAFFITI 2022: LIFE IN 3D!

The Artifex Inter-House Graffiti Competition was as popular as ever this year, and House teams impressed us all with their energy and creativity. The cloud of spray paint seemed larger than usual, but as the work was possibly of the best standard ever produced at the competition, the Art Department was not complaining!

The theme this year was “Life in 3D” and students’ work evinced a fantastic use of colour and creativity. Mr Monkman, our Director of Art, said that “the best designs showed collaboration and planning in order to create a coherent piece of work.”

House teams worked in close quarters with each other. Spray paints were shared between Houses in an effort to reduce our “consumer footprint” and students were extremely patient. They were consistently respectful in their conversations with each other, but possibly a little less respectful in the decoration of their footwear and “tie-dye” legs!

The winning House was Hodgsonites. The Art Department described their piece as “a good play between abstraction, colour, pattern and image-making with meaning!” Forget the shredded Banksy, we have Artifex Graffiti!

Many thanks go to Mr Monkman, Ms Hamill and Miss Pinkney for taking on the difficult task of judging and to Gavin Plowright for ordering the materials. Thanks also to the Operations Department for helping set up and to Security for helping take down the activity!