Twister

A collaborative exhibition in New Court Gallery by Joe S (U6S) and Ayse Naz Y (U6A)

There was a point this year when it became obvious that two of our Upper Sixth Fine were so committed to their work that not only were their practical investigations becoming highly sophisticated, but they were each generating sequences of innovative paintings in a fascinatingly interlinked and independently authentic process of visual propositions. In other words, their art was having a conversation with itself that could be read sequentially. In the context of a highlyengaged Sixth Form set whose crossfertilisation of ideas and critique was confident and constant (I was living the educator dream!), it also became clear that a healthily competitive and collaborative energy was powering these two idea chains.

Something clicked when I suggested the two of them collaborate on an exhibition which could map out and compare the locus of their own (very different) project work, but also to ‘see what would happen’ when it was deliberately brought together as a collaborative curation exercise. A tandem “YES” resounded!

Ayse Naz, now on her way to London to the excellent Camberwell College of Art, exhibitor at the Istanbul Young Artist Biennale and shortlisted as the Repton Art Department submission for the national BSA Awards 2023, has been investigating the concept of ‘the Male Gaze’: a collection of ideas around power and visualisation, using semi-figurative atmospherics to generate an eerie sense of surveillance, while still engaging with beauty and the imaginative figure. Joe, destined straight for the degree course at Chelsea College of Art in London, has researched last century’s Abstract Expressionist movement and reimagined some of its more dated emphases for a more contemporary abstract logic and audience.

These two trajectories came together in a wide-ranging and coherent manner thanks to the shared love of process and of paint itself. Perhaps more unexpectedly, this collision also resulted in a multimedia dimension to the exhibition. Visitors to the opening were treated to a large-scale collaborative painting the artists made together on the floor of the Art studio, while a minimalist performance about the origins of abstract imagery featured a jazz improvised composition recorded by Repton musicians

Leila C, Joe J, Carwen O and Louis A, in response to the visual stimulus of Joe’s painting!

The exhibition was, in fact, somewhat like the floor-based party game (and lolly-pop) it was named after. This was a fantastic cross-curricular project, an exciting event and a wonderful opportunity for these two young artists to propel their ideas and experience forward in advance of their higher study of Art.

IJW