Textiles & Design ������������������������������������������������������������

STUDENT: AILEEN ALIWIJOYO ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

For my Major Textiles Project (MTP), I have designed and created a long sleeved wrap blazer. My garment is inspired by the bathhouse uniform seen in the Japanese animated movie Spirited Away, as well as Traditional Japanese textiles and art. The decorative darts at the shoulders mimic delicate paper folds seen in the Japanese art of origami, as origami and paper are recurring motifs seen within the animated movie. The overall wrap style of the blazer is inspired by the traditional Japanese garment of the kimono. The dark blue pigment embedded into the sleeves and the detailed patterned interior of the wrap blazer is created through the laborious dyeing techniques seen within the traditional Japanese textile indigo dyeing of Shibori. Over 400 double knots were hand-tied one by one to create the intricate design of the interior of the jacket. The embellishments seen on the belt are also inspired by elements seen within Spirited Away as seen in the appliqué of the laser cut paper figure (cut with 100% cotton Homespun) and the beading outline on the appliqué.

STUDENT: SARAH ANTONIO ● FOCUS AREA: TEXTILE ARTS

My Major Textiles Project is a wall hanging. This highly embellished piece comes under the focus area of a textile artwork which is derived from not only my Sri Lankan heritage and culture but also my religion – Hinduism. My textile artwork is highly decorative, highly embellished and visually pleasing as it has aspects of different materials, colours and techniques that are seen throughout. The centerpiece of the wall hanging embodies an important figure in the Hindu religion called ‘Ganesh’, this was 100% hand sewn. Also, the majority of the fabric used in this wall hanging is fabric from a repurposed sari. This wall hanging may be created for personal significance, design influence and/or creativity mostly for homeowners. As my project is a highly embellished artwork, it will be displayed or hung up due to bright visuals. Also, this textile artwork is large so it has the advantage of easily being seen from afar drawing the eye to the work. Seen throughout this wall hanging is a variety of surface decoration techniques which adds to the emphasis. These include patchwork, sequins, hand embroidery, beading and block printing.

STUDENT: BEATRIZ ARELLANO ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

For my Major Textiles Project, I designed and created a formal event dress inspired by the Kosovar designer Teuta Matoshi, who specialises in creating elegant, feminine, ready-to-wear evening wear for women of all ages. Matoshi often utilises elements of corsetry, as seen in the bodices of some of her garments which incorporate boning to provide structure and create a more fitted look to the dress. Her designs aim to embrace the feminine figure and use texture and a range of decorative techniques such as embroidery, beading and appliqué to add a whimsical and classy feel to her garments. I have been inspired by her fabric choice, silhouette and structure 19 of her formal wear pieces, which I can incorporate to effectively create an appealing formal garment for my target market. To reflect my inspiration, I utilised powder blue tulle fabric to create a sheer corset-style bodice, with a tiered tulle ruffle floor length skirt that flares out at the waist to create an elegant and flattering formal wear garment.

STUDENT: ALBERTA BUCCIARELLI-STOURNARAS ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

I designed and constructed a decorative red carpet outfit with a detachable high-low overlay flounced skirt. The outfit includes durable and lustrous fabrics as well as a balance of functional and aesthetic techniques, designed for red carpet and Met Gala events where iconic fashion pieces of extravagance are worn. I designed and drafted the pattern pieces for each flounce, rather than using store bought pattern pieces. The chaotic movement, unique to each flounce, mimics the flow of the ocean’s waves. Innovation is demonstrated through the unique use of nail polish marbling to give the appliqué starfish swirling lines, creating movement and rhythm. My inspiration derives 20 from Gianni Versace’s Spring Summer 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection. The collection consists of ocean motifs in bold colours, unique shapes and silhouettes, exaggerated use of flounces to communicate waves, and chaotic colour and volume. Donatella Versace mentions, ‘I wanted to do something disruptive and to break the rules’.

STUDENT: ALESSIA GARZANITI ● FOCUS AREA: TEXTILE ARTS

My textile artwork is inspired by the Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2012 collection and its highly embellished garments, especially the two piece garments. This collection entails unique and vibrant designs that were created with intricate embroidery, using an array of coloured beads as well as the use of the large jewels, which were also used in this piece. The short and scandalous silhouettes, in the shape of a bra and shorts, were also influenced and applied to the design. The historical inspiration for this textiles artwork is a part of the Baroque historical period and the architecture within the Baroque buildings. The golden accents in these buildings enticed and influenced this project, through the grandeur and curvaceous style and pattern of the Baroque buildings. All of these elements initially inspired this textile artwork, due to the sophistication to the historical buildings overall aesthetic and complexity in pattern. The Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2012 collection and baroque buildings link to having the ability to be turned into a textile artwork as this piece is highly decorative and will be displayed on a mannequin.

STUDENT: CHLOE HATCHER ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

For my MTP I have designed a ready-to-wear relaxed mini dress, showcasing the focus area of Apparel. My garment illustrates the exploration and expression of 1970s fashion trends, through the aesthetic and design of the dress. The apparel piece will use a flirty silhouette and feminine design to complement the female figure through its formal yet relaxed fit. The use of bishop sleeves, elongated cuffs and a low v-neckline within the apparel piece, further encapsulates the elements of the 1970s fashion trends. These components of my piece are enhanced by the aesthetic features of my originally designed 1970s hippie era inspired fabric print and sequins, producing a highly aesthetically pleasing apparel piece that communicates the inspiration of the era. Through using Adobe Illustrator software I was able to design the print of my fabric. I then outsourced my fabric to be printed.

STUDENT: BELLA KARAVATAKIS ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

For my Major Textiles Project, the chosen focus area for my design is Apparel. Apparel items must be functional and aesthetically pleasing and made of quality manufacturing to fulfil the end-use purpose. I have designed a skirt and jacket made completely of tweed. Tweed is a rough, woolen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, highly comfortable and keeps the wearer warm with the heaviness of the fabric. For my tweed suit I have chosen to use a woven pink tweed, it is through the creation of the mini pencil skirt and petite jacket that the criteria of an apparel item will be met. Overall, my MTP is highly inspired by the 23 1990s and Chanel, especially the link of these two designs being Chanel 90s collections. My choice of tweed fabric is drawn straight from my inspiration from Chanel, with the sweet colours, classy and sophisticated look, I have adapted these elements into my design of the tweed suit to bring out my inspiration.

STUDENT: OCEANA KRSTICEVIC ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

For my Major Textiles Project (MTP) I have designed and constructed a red carpet dress. Inspired by the intricate detail of Steven Khalil dresses and the iconic Versace pin-dress, the floor-length garment includes durable and soft fabrics as well as a balance of function and aesthetic techniques and features. The garment is designed to be a luxury bespoke piece that encapsulates common motifs and inspirations. The MTP encompasses many design techniques that make it both creative and innovative, including the use of pattern modifications and the use of decorative embellishments. This gown includes a one-shoulder gown which will be constructed from sheer organza as an overlay on the garment, essentially stemming from the Steven Khalil gown. This sheer overlay acts as a base for intricate beading, reflecting luxury and opulence, which is appropriate for the intended high-class audience. The slit of the dress was widened and brought up higher to include gold pins that cascade down a quarter of the split. The gold pins have been repeatedly used to fill the empty space of the cut out.

STUDENT: AVA MURRANT ● FOCUS AREA: TEXTILE ARTS

My Major Textiles Project is a sailor style dress with a free flowing mid length skirt with short sleeves and a typical sailor collar. The purpose of the dress is not to be worn but to sit adorning a space like a typical textile art piece. The dress follows a commercial pattern directly in all areas besides the collar. It is constructed from a repurposed sail that is an off white colour with medium blue stripes, this aims to create an innovative and creative area of emphasis of the textile art piece through the outstanding colour in comparison to the navy blue of the rest of the dress. The idea was to reflect the sail and the club number through repurposing the fabric in a way that will advertise the sailing team. As the project developed the idea to make a sailing dress like you would see in the 1950s seemed appropriate given the context of the fabric, linking the design historically and contemporary, as it brings attention to a modern sport through bringing back an easily recognisable sailing outfit design from the 1950s. The dress sets a design that can be easily recognised by viewers and a garment that correlates to the sport, without having known the intent of the major project.

STUDENT: SOPHIA PINKERTON ● FOCUS AREA: COSTUME

My Major Textiles Project is a costume for the character Lady Mary from the television show Downton Abbey, set in the early 1910s. My overall aim was to capture the grandeur of Lady Mary Crawley, the eldest daughter of the household, and to encapsulate her elegance and presence through creating an evening gown for her. Costuming is a way to accentuate and dramatise, and allows the artistry of the costume to shine through and add definition to scenes and characters. My choice of bright colour conveys her power and influence, while the drape demonstrates her elegance and poise. Further, the tassels which weigh down the sleeves add to the line of the dress, falling vertically, and the intricate beading across the front of the chest add detail to the garment, demonstrating a level of sophistication. The sheer, 26 layered fabric choice came from the frock of Lady Mary’s sister in the show, Lady Sybil, which also has a similar use of drape and volume. The costume I have made meets the aesthetic qualities as it incorporates embellishments such embroidery and tassels relevant to the time period, as well as being very delicate and elegant to convey class.

STUDENT: SARAH RAHME ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

My Major Textiles Project has been inspired by the Pallas Couture Forever Fleurs collection and Vincent Van Gogh 1890 painting, Almond Blossoms. The Forever Fleurs collection was inspired by flowers, ‘true luxury’, and a balance between ‘classical couture, impeccable tailoring and modern sophistication’. The mermaid fitted silhouettes, open neckline trains have influenced the silhouette of my wedding dress. Van Gogh’s painting, Almond Blossoms, embodies large blossoms and branches over a blue sky which reflects new life. These key features of Van Gogh’s painting inspired my MTP through the floral patterns on the train and the surface decorations of beading reflecting branches on the train. I have also been inspired by the ongoing tradition of a white wedding dress for a bride. The gown fits into the focus area of apparel, featuring a floor length dress with a long train, providing modesty and communicating the bride’s status on her wedding day. My MTP is embellished using beading, machine embroidery and hand embroidery.

STUDENT: CAITLIN SNOCH ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

My Major Textiles Project focused on the inspiration of Ancient Greece in order to create an extravagant modern day representation of a Greek Goddess which is to be worn at the highly extravagant 2018 Met Gala themed Heavenly Bodies. It is an apparel, high-end, evening floor-length gown which fits the correct and appropriate aesthetics that represents Ancient Greece. Even though formal wear is not worn regularly, the garment still needs to have a strong and structured finish to maintain its durability. The garment focuses on the drape utilised during Ancient Greece, yet also portrays the luxurious and excessive lifestyle that the Met Gala demonstrates every year. The high embellishments on the corset allow the garment to catch the attention of the audience’s eye and strongly link back to the inspiration of the piece. The embellishments help communicate the lustre and texture that is seen at the Met Gala while the multiple layers of fabric showcase the drape that was utilised during the Ancient Greek period. These contrasting inspirations will create a structured, form fitting bodice accompanied with a free-flowing, floor-length skirt.

STUDENT: ALICE TYREE ● FOCUS AREA: COSTUME

My Major Textiles Project falls under the Costume focus area of textiles and design and is inspired by Chanel’s Paris Opera Ballet ‘Variations’ 2018 collection. This design comprises a tulle ballet romantic style tutu that falls to the ankle and is strapless with off the shoulder draped sleeves that hang over the arm. Made from delustered satin with a cotton lining, the bodice has a lustrous effect, as well as being secured and supportive for the ballerina to dance in. The extensive layers of tulle used to create the skirt, allows for decorative techniques to be used. These include beading and appliqué embellishments placed at the bottom hem of the skirt, as well as on the tight fitted bodice. These embellishments entail silk dyed, laser cut butterflies which are in the contrasting colours of blue and purple, placed against the white tutu. The sweetheart neckline alongside the chiffon sleeves, enhance the aesthetically pleasing nature of this design which portrays creativity and innovation in regards to the inspiration.

STUDENT: LAUREN WISE ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

My Major Textiles Project is a contemporary evening dress, inspired by Paolo Sebastian’s autumn/winter collection ‘The Nutcracker’ (2018-19), created to be worn for formal events, classified as an Apparel piece. This piece is compromised of two garments, the bodice and skirt, featuring detailed embellishments within both. The design has a tight fitted, strapless bodice, with an A-line, ankle-length skirt, made from a Vogue pattern with 100% polyester light blue Winston satin, and 100% nylon white bridal tulle as the exterior fabrics, lined with 100% acrylic silver Bemsilk lining. This garment includes boning on each side of the bodice, for structure and support, and also two princess seams at the front, and two darts at the back, which are both used for shape and fitting, creating the fitted silhouette of the bodice. This garment has delicately 30 hand-stitched embroidery, around both the bodice and skirt to create the stem and leaves, paired with intricate beading, inspired from Paolo Sebastion’s collection. It also includes laser cut fabric manipulated to imitate flowers, connected to the embroidery and beading, creating the visual elements of the floral design, clearly influenced by Paolo Sebastion’s garments, establishing a tactile and visual texture to the bodice.

STUDENT: ANASTASIA WYNDHAM ● FOCUS AREA: APPAREL

For my Major Textiles Project I have designed and created an overcoat, drawing inspiration from Thom Browne’s Spring Ready-toWear 2021 collection alongside the global environmental issue of coral bleaching. The coat is a monochrome white, single breasted, notch lapel collar design which establishes a loose fitting and elongated A-line silhouette. The garment has long loose-fitting raglan sleeves, leaving a diagonal seam from the coat’s underarm to its collarbone. Both sleeves have a dart located above the shoulder, providing the coat’s sleeve with shape and structure. A seam runs vertically down the center back, with an asymmetrical diagonal seam on the left back side panel and three antique white buttons fastening the garment at the front. The coat’s monochromatic appearance draws inspiration from Thom Browne’s entirely white collection alongside the environmental issue of coral bleaching. This coat explores an abundance of surface decoration techniques, exhibiting vertical, organic lines couching on the left front panel, sleeve and back produced through the utilisation of creamy-white 100% merino wool yarn. In addition I have created intricate circular applique pieces established through a range of beading, couching, embroidery and patchwork, intended to mimic the highly textured nature of coral. These are placed sporadically around the entire garment. The coat’s base fabric is a heavyweight off-white wool, polyamide blend and is entirely lined with 100% polyester offwhite bridal satin, establishing thermal properties and comfort which further portrays my focal area of Apparel.

Visual Arts

STUDENT: AILEEN ALIWIJOYO ● ARTWORK TITLE: DISSOCIATION

(THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW) (TIME BASED FORMS)

My Body of Work was inspired by my experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic and the deteriorating mental state of the individual that comes from isolation. My short film aims to capture the continual and depressing experience of self isolation, and how life without socialisation allows individuals to lose themselves and live life in a repetitive state. Viewers are taken on a journey where motion is little and the ending is hard to anticipate as the time and space in the film becomes confusing.

STUDENT: ALBERTA BUCCIARELLI-STOURNARAS ● ARTWORK TITLE: EMPOWERED:

LEAFING BEHIND GENDER STEREOTYPES (SCULPTURE)

My Body of Work transforms a ‘power tool’ (gardening), recontextualising the traditionally masculine equipment with unexpected decorative and feminine qualities. It is through my art making that I am able to question and challenge the audience’s preconceived notions of gender, editing preconceived masculine connotations using materials traditionally associated with female domestic practices.

STUDENT: TIANA CASTELLARI ● ARTWORK TITLE: MONETIZING REFUGEES (SCULPTURE)

My body of work is a ‘solution’ to the refugee crisis by providing refugees with shelter and a temporary home, food and transport through the idea of ‘popping out a pill’. However instead of popping out a tablet, the pills are houses and hotels. Society has this belief that the majority of pain can be resolved through medicine. This is why when one is in pain they are told to take a ‘pill’ – I wanted to bring satire to this to suggest by taking this ‘instant shelter’ it will solve everything.

STUDENT: AMELIA DILLON ● ARTWORK TITLE: THE NEUROLOGICAL

GARDEN (SCULPTURE)

My artwork explores the integral connection between humanity and the natural world, especially in relation to the positive impacts of nature on our mental health. In the current pandemic, I have drawn upon nature, and especially flowers, for joy and comfort. I want the artwork to prompt thought about humanity’s place in nature at large. This is shown through overarching dendritic similarities between human neural physiology and plant biology. I have used a railway map design, radiating from the brain, to visually align neurological pathways with nature’s plant systems.

STUDENT: ELEANOR DILLON ● ARTWORK TITLE: DUSK BECKONS AT

KIANGA (PAINTING)

My body of work was inspired by a rainforest bushwalk in Kianga National Park on the NSW South Coast. Through an unnatural colour scheme and panoramic presentation, I hope to be able to prompt a sense of the enchantment and immersion that I felt while there. I want to communicate a sense of otherworldliness that celebrates the vibrancy and vitality found in dense rainforest.

STUDENT: FRANCINE GERONIMO ● ARTWORK TITLE: STILL LIVE (PHOTOMEDIA)

My Body of Work explores how the traditional notions conveyed in still-life artworks, such as the temporary pleasure received from material items and the passing of time, are altered when placed in a surreal context. I perplex the viewer with my unusual juxtapositions and the unexpected to bring to life to the unique experiences seen in dreams. The thoughts of the subconscious mind are captured by the appearance of additional body parts that clearly do not belong with the main subject in the image.

STUDENT: VALENTINA GUARNA ● ARTWORK TITLE: HIS, HERS, OURS (DRAWING)

The prevalent issue of gender inequality ultimately impacts children and their future. Through adopting a lenticular structural approach, my unique design transcends the traditional conventions of portraiture. My large-scale realistic drawings have been rendered using charcoal and white pencil and as the viewer moves from one viewpoint to another, their perspective shifts from the portrait image of a boy to a girl. Humanity is made in the same image and form and should be provided with the same opportunities.

STUDENT: ELYSE GULLOTTA-THOMAS ● ARTWORK TITLE: THE LAND OF

‘EVERYTHING AND NOTHING’ (DRAWING)

Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, and a popular cartoon series, my panoramic digital drawing is scaled up to be printed at an exaggerated size and scale. The bright and bold colours and absurd characters and images give the piece a sense of childlike innocence. The randomisation of colour, placement and context of each feature creates pathways for individual interpretation which is complemented by its lengthy scale. This allows the Individual viewer to walk along the drawing whilst thoughts and feelings unfold in real time.

STUDENT: MADISON HOTOP ● ARTWORK TITLE: TRANSANGELIC

GENESIS (TIME BASED FORMS)

My Body of Work is an exploration of transdimensional worlds, with an ever present threat looming on the other side. Our own existence is celebrated through the mundane activities and detritus of our everyday lives as we aim to literally ‘keep the wolf from the door’. The form I chose to express this idea is traditional animation which includes more experimental aspects in order to explore the possibilities of the medium and its ability to convey meaning.

JOANNE LIPMAN ● ARTWORK TITLE: STOP, THEREFORE I AM (DOCUMENTED FORMS) (DRAWING)

My Body of Work draws inspiration from the current climate of control imposed by the Government in response to the pandemic. It seeks to subvert the significance of the many sites which have become ‘off-limits’ therefore effectively turning these imposing and threatening figures into nothing more than ‘the fun-police’.

STUDENT: MIA SHARRY ● ARTWORK TITLE: ADDRESSING THE MET (PRINTMAKING)

My body of work is inspired by the guerrilla girls. Specifically, their artwork Do women have to be naked to get into the MET. Museum? In my body of work I have used three famous artworks of naked women that are found in the MET museum and ‘clothed’ them using collograph prints and dressmakers’ patterns. The idea behind this is not that women shouldn’t be naked or that being naked is immodest, but rather to challenge the historical objectification of women. I hope that this makes the audience question the role of women in art and their value regardless of whether they are clothed or not.

English Extension 2

STUDENT: MADELEINE AEDY ● TITLE: TOO AMBITIOUS ● MEDIUM: PODCAST WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR WORK ABOUT?

My Major Work, the podcast ‘Too Ambitious’ is the first episode of a hypothetical five part series, analysing and centred around women in politics. The podcast focuses on their experiences through the perspective of a 17 year old ‘everygirl’ and her interviews with others. Originally I intended for the podcast to draw attention to the culture in the Australian parliament – the sexism and misogyny that has become a focal point in the media and as such, a national conversation. Over time, with the news of Brittany Higgins and the accusations against Christian Porter, my purpose morphed into an analysis of a young woman’s perspective on parliament and the role she may one day play in Australian politics.

WHAT INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED YOUR MAJOR WORK?

I was brought up in a family of journalists, we would watch at least two different news programs each night to ensure a wide range of views and opinions were covered. I have always been interested in politics and the world around us, with a particular interest in powerful women. Working with audio, I needed to keep audiences engaged so I interviewed other women in order to understand different perspectives and ideas. Along with women at the peak of their careers, I interviewed my friends, and it was how they saw women in leadership that shaped my Major Work.

WHAT FORM DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

I chose the podcast because I wanted to write something new. Throughout high school, you are given the chance to write fiction, non-fiction, persuasives and discursive but very rarely do you have the chance to write with the intention of speaking. As time went on, I realised that the podcast form became a homage of sorts to the riot girrrl culture of the early 1990s. Instead of producing and distributing my ideas in a zine, I was able to do the same with a podcast and literally uplift the voices of other women through it.

WHAT DID YOU FIND CHALLENGING ABOUT THE PROCESS?

For me, I found the initial research to be the most challenging part. In the beginning, my research was more ‘light hearted’, focusing on the particular role the media played in how our female politicians are treated. However, a month or so into the process, the news of Brittany Higgins’ assault broke, and a week after that allegations against Christian Porter surfaced. Instead of taking a step back from all of this, my first reaction was to double down on research and it led to me burning out before I had even written anything. I had to learn my own boundaries in terms of these stories in order to say anything useful at all.

AN EXTRACT FROM TOO AMBITIOUS

In today’s world, where we use our experiences and ideologies to guide us, our 17 year old can’t help but critique the worlds of politics and media through the very thing that shaped her – feminism. If she’s being completely honest with herself, she’s scared; she’s seen what happened to Kate Ellis, only 30 and forced to plead for her political life to a newspaper editor over a false scandal, women nearly forced out of parliament from media smear campaigns. One story can ruin a woman’s career – public shaming and private abuses go hand in hand. She’s been told that women are hit on by senior MPs twice their age, rumours and gossip spread like wildfire. [BW – For men, it’s to increase their appeal to women because of the long standing Liberal women problem, so you have people like, back in the day, Tony Abbott saying that he’s a feminist, and everyone’s like ‘ok, sure’, when it’s quite obvious that he’s doing that to say, ‘hey women, I’m cool with the ladies, vote for me’. But for women to say that in their party, I feel like is one step too far, because they do risk accusations that they’re man-haters or they’re lesbians or they’re hairy-legged, or whatever – all those stereotypes.]

How does someone deal with this abuse once, let alone daily for years? And why are we, as consumers, allowing the media to continue this? Doubt grows at the corners of her mind – is any of this even worth it?

The first seeds of this doubt were sown way back in 2011 – she was barely old enough to understand the significance of a female prime minister and yet, she vividly remembers the comments, the unyielding hate directed towards arguably one of the most powerful people in Australia, let alone women. [AS – I think it’s important to note that – eight years ago, Julia Gillard, during her time as prime minister, you know, had the most sexist campaigns launched about her, you know, there was ‘ditch the witch’, there were, you know, that menu served up at the Liberal Party dinner where it was ‘small breasts and big thighs’,]

Fast forward through the years, 2021 rolls around, she’s in Year 12 now and there are documents going around with the names and schools of boys who have assaulted girls like her, friends of friends.

STUDENT: ZAHRA ALAM ● TITLE: RACE-TRACK ● MEDIUM: CREATIVE NONFICTION WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR WORK ABOUT?

My major work is an exploration of the complexities of ideas surrounding racial identity and the subconscious effects that racial identity can have on relationships within a family. With a focus on the evolution of my father’s fragmented racial identity throughout his childhood and into adulthood, I employ the key tenets of Critical Race Theory within a series of five interwoven anecdotes paired with corresponding critical and theoretical reviews, delving into the formation of internalised racism.

WHAT INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED YOUR MAJOR WORK?

To begin with there was a plethora of different inspirations and influences – most of which stemmed from themes of psychology, racial identity, and the psychology behind racial identity – and with that came a plethora of different directions in which my work could go. There was no lightbulb moment of sudden inspiration, but rather a slow burn of themes born from race psychology which eventually pointed to the main influence – my dad. My dad has always had an interesting relationship with his identity as a second generation Lebanese-Australian man, and my initial, seemingly directionless research seemed to ignite a sense of ‘piecing together a puzzle’ in terms of understanding and, in a way, deciphering my own father’s relationship with his racial identity. From there, my research led me to discover the inevitability of internalised racism to be passed on intergenerationally, a discovery which prompted further investigation into my father’s life and family line, and the rest is history.

WHAT FORM DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

I chose the form of creative nonfiction, and specifically a personal essay and narrative hybrid, because I believed that it would be the best possible way to support the subject matter and notions that I was exploring – both universal and deeply personal. Through trial and error, I decided that I would have to get slightly inventive in my choice of form, drawing from unique novels such as Sarah Krasnostein’s The Trauma Cleaner to guage an idea of a medium that would streamline a piece of writing, equal parts storytelling and investigative.

WHAT DID YOU FIND CHALLENGING ABOUT THE PROCESS?

Aside from ensuring authenticity when writing about real events, I found maintaining a balance between a subjective authorial voice and a factual, objective voice to be the most challenging aspect of the process. The fear of inserting too much of my own opinion and not enough of the subject matter at hand was always present but through trial and error, I found a balance.

AN EXTRACT FROM RACE-TRACK

The silver Ford Falcon with a busted rear end light could be heard coming down Campbell Street at 8:00am every morning. Robert makes the rounds; Charbel, Joe and David cram their backpacks into the boot and slam the door with all their body weight. Yagoona street smarts is knowing that David’s mother walks her son out the door with his schoolbag every morning, so Robert has learned to sit in the driver’s seat a little higher and push the chair back a little further to appear older than his scrawny 15 years. He takes the back streets to school.

The grass of the field, dull and yellowing, crunches under the feet of the four boys who play their routine game of football at lunch. The field is their unofficial territory in the playground – the Aussie boys always got first dibs on the asphalt basketball courts. Sometimes, Joe would bring in a tennis ball and the group would tentatively make their way down to the courts, playing handball in a modest square fashioned from the remnants of chalk on the ground. In time, the Aussie boys would join in.

The football is sitting unattended in the middle of the teachers’ car park, thanks to a particularly powerful kick from Robert. It bounces off a nearby bench with a conspicuous metallic clang, allowing them the four frantic seconds they require to elect Charbel to retrieve the ball. He braves the walk up, while the boys disperse near the teachers’ carpark with false nonchalance. Robert sits at the bench closest to the carpark and carefully watches the shrinking figure of Charbel, bracing for the worst.

In the corner of the car park, smoke lightly billows out of the cracked windows of a dark blue Torana SS, the muffled sound of Back Of Love playing over the cassette. Charbel glances at Robert, and their eyes meet through the chain link fence. Cigarette in hand, Mr Mason glares at Charbel through Coke-bottle lenses, his arms crossed over his chest in a reclined driver’s seat. Charbel carefully approaches the ball, sensing eyes on him like a force of gravity. As he lowers to pick it up, so too does the music. He freezes. Robert holds his breath, while Mr Mason sucks a deep breath of smoke in and blows rings out.

‘Out of the car park, Lahood’.

STUDENT: PIA CURRAN ● TITLE: IN THE NAME OF ART ● MEDIUM: CREATIVE NONFICTION WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR WORK ABOUT?

My Major Work explored the ethical criticism of art, particularly in relation to art produced under dictatorships. To frame my piece, I used the lives of two controversial artists, Leni Riefenstahl and Dmitri Shostakovich, who produced art under the Nazi and Soviet regimes respectively. The work interrogates the relationship between morality and power, challenging assumptions that art is a powerless commodity by asserting that under certain historical conditions it assumes a complex social role capable of perpetrating and resisting power. I explored differing perspectives on artistic responsibility to interrogate whether moral judgements can and should be applied to art.

WHAT INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED YOUR MAJOR WORK?

My choice of subject matter was influenced by my interest in history, and I enjoyed the opportunity to be able to explore this discipline in a different way by focusing on the internal worlds of people in the past. This was inspired by Anna Funder’s book Stasiland, which incorporates elements of both storytelling and historical analysis. Stylistically, I was influenced by the works of Milan Kundera, specifically his development of a distinctive narrative voice that fuses fiction with philosophical contemplation.

WHAT FORM DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

I chose to write in creative nonfiction as I wanted to experiment with narrative and research conventions. This form allowed me to combine my passions for history and creativity, shaping a greater appreciation of both. I followed an objective research process, but how this research was presented differed to traditional history, as primary material and fact was combined with fictionalised imaginings of the conscience and inner workings of historical figures. I enjoyed the flexibility that this hybrid form gave me to experiment with characterisation and narrative voice.

WHAT DID YOU FIND CHALLENGING ABOUT THE PROCESS?

Extension 2 is a very long process, and this was daunting at the beginning of the course. I cycled through lots of ideas before settling on my final concept, and it took me a while before I developed a sense of purpose and direction with my Major Work. The amount of information you end up with about your concept can be overwhelming, and I found it difficult to start writing or translate my research into a story with developed plot and characters. The independence you are given with the project is exciting, but also challenging, requiring time management skills and trust in your own ideas.

AN EXTRACT FROM IN THE NAME OF ART

String Quartet No. 8 in C minor The music grieves together; he writes his initials into the notes in a guilt-stricken apology to Stravinsky, his friends, to music and to art. The letters slip in and around the staves, a cello drones beneath them and a viola carries them across the page. A mournful resignation but a dissonant push.

It was 1960. They wanted to make him General Secretary of the Composers’ Union, and they wanted him to join the Communist Party. And so, like the model citizen he had become, he did both.

In the West they called him a coward, a committed Communist; a victim of political blackmail or a slave to ambition. They didn’t call him a composer. They didn’t call him a musician. He wondered if he was still an artist.

As one of his first duties they flew him to Dresden to work on the score for a Soviet-East German film. At night, under the low light of an electric lamp, he wrote the Eight String Quartet. It was subtitled, ‘To the victims of fascism and war,’ ostensibly in memory of those who died in the Dresden firebombing of 1945. But you would have to be blind and deaf to think the Eighth was simply about that.

Viola and cello skip and cross their feet in happy dance, but above them violins wail and howl, drip down the page, teeth biting against the strings. It is laughter through tears. Music should always have two layers.

Perhaps he had not been careful enough here. He heard his initials crying out over the music in silent, high-pitched protest, smuggled into the staves and ringing out over his First and Fifth Symphonies, over Lady Macbeth; ‘I’m still here!”’Irony was all well and good. But without Party guidance he could have been brilliant, he could have been angry; he could have revealed his ideas openly instead of having to resort to camouflage.

He could have been brilliant.

But instead he hid behind his own art and failed self-expression and the veins in his hand blackened and shook so that the pen stumbled from his fingers when he wrote. The violins sunk chromatic claws into the flesh of the state.

And the state called back, of course; it pushed the music into a sensible register, purged it of heresy and guided it back to the diatonic march of the proletariat.

STUDENT: HOPE ELIAS ● TITLE: E-MERGE ● MEDIUM: CREATIVE NONFICTION, FICTO-CRITICAL WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR WORK ABOUT?

The nature of the ‘sublime’ has been rendered obsolete and described as an ‘outdated relic’ within the modern world. However, my ficto-critical piece delves into the rebirth of the sublime within the modern world of virtual reality, embodying a paradox. In my attempt to impugn the contemporary perception of the sublime it was necessary to understand the classic sublime. Technology, modernism and industrialism, by definition, led humanity astray from the beauty of the natural world. Thus, my ideology rose to the fore. Whereby humanity has now reached an ironic impasse. That the sublime is not characterised by its conventional, archetypal shape in poetry, art and literature, rather – through technology in the modern world.

WHAT INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED YOUR MAJOR WORK?

My first interaction with the concept of romanticism stemmed from my Year 9 study of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This broadened my understanding into classical romantic literature and allowed me to perceive technology through a different lens. As I matured, my passion for classical romanticism grew as I compared it to the modern world. I truly believed humanity had lost its connection to the natural world. Sublimity reappeared in both my Advanced English and English Extension 1 lessons. My Year 11 study of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre in English Extension 1 was significant in shaping my authorial voice and is foundational to my piece. Moreover, Module A in my English Advanced studies shaped my perception of the transcendent ideals of subliminity, through analysing the reimagining of the 18th century poet, John Keats. Bright Star, a film by Campion, aims to shine light upon the poet and his ideals – allowing its remnants to suit the contemporary audience.

WHAT FORM DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

By evaluating my authorial intent, the reinvigoration of the sublime within the modern world required multiplexity in its exposition. In the search for an equilibrium between creative and analytical elements, I employed fictocriticism. The hybrid structure allowed my authorial voice to showcase both fictional and critical elements. The hybridity of fictocriticism in its self-reflectiveness undertakes its own critique and is pivotal to the analysis of the VR world.

WHAT DID YOU FIND CHALLENGING ABOUT THE PROCESS?

The largest obstacle I faced was shaping the personal voice of Manon Lefebvre. Since he is an external character and his ideology is built upon theory, I initially struggled with – the world of virtual reality.

EXTRACT FROM E-MERGE

On-Stage As Lefebvre commences, I find my place in a vacant seat adjacent to both stage and crowd with a fortunate cross-section of presentation and audience reaction. He stands as experience and passion personified; it is easy to tell that he was a teacher in a past life as he tells his story. The audience could be forgiven for being intimidated by the sheer breadth of knowledge he possesses on the romantic canon, but this is foiled by the palpable enthusiasm he has for his work.

The expository stages of his talk are driven by one focal question: ‘Is quintessential sublimity conscionable – and possible – in a modern world?’

With the small crackle of its flame being preserved in High School English and University Literature courses, the essence of the sublime has been at a waning flicker for some time. Deemed a relic attained only by literary elites and those of the high arts, archetypal approaches to the movement gave way to the dominance of industrialism and the widening complexities of social phenomenology. Yet, it begs the question: if this is truly a redundant concept, then why have so many poets, artists and authors over the course of literary history defied convention and expectation to preserve this yearning for the metaphysical?

Lefebvre articulates his response to this when conceptualising his approach to the audience: ‘In attaining a heightened sense of self, the sublime offered a manifold of individual and collective wisdom, and a window to view and experience the world like no other’. It is a rather conventional view of sublimity, something that seems peculiar when heard in a contemporary setting of a convention hall and surrounded by technology.

Lefebvre continues to explain: ‘Literary romantics have pursued a route of awe and fascination for the natural world, and a longing for an elevated sense of self that aids purpose and meaning. I seek this too with the tools available to the modern man and woman. I want to truly experience the world in the way literature has told it – and shortly, you all will too as your imagination is transported into a space of metaphysicality like wanderers above a sea fog’.

STUDENT: EMMA GRAHAM ● TITLE: INFINITY FROM NOTHING ● MEDIUM: CREATIVE NONFICTION WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR WORK ABOUT?

‘No object can resist an irresistible force. No force can move an immovable object. So if an immovable object meets an irresistible force it will move and not move.’ –The ancient ‘Infinity from Nothing’ paradox

The ‘Infinity from Nothing’ paradox is not only the title of my Major Work but analogises its concept as well. By using the paradox to represent the constant battle between love and trauma in life, the purpose of my Major Work is to examine the role of love in healing from trauma, explored through the lens of the individual traumatic stories of my grandparents. My grandfather’s storyline follows his experience with escaping Hungary during the Holocaust and his subsequent trauma. My grandmother’s storyline follows her experience with multiple home invasions and the psychological trauma that she endured as a result. The storylines merge together at the end of the piece to reflect on the role of love in healing from their trauma.

WHAT INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED YOUR MAJOR WORK?

I have always been in awe of the love that existed between my grandparents. Their trauma was something that I wasn’t aware of until I was old enough to understand it, but when I was told what happened to them, I was shocked by how much they’d been through, but amazed by how strong their love for each other was despite their pain. And although love didn’t take away all of their trauma, it did allow them to survive – and when I realised that, I knew that I wanted to write about their story.

WHAT FORM DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

I chose the form of creative nonfiction because it allows the freedom for both fact and fiction. I wanted to share the stories, but I also wanted a reflective undertone in order to share perspective and evoke understanding within the audience. For example, the prologue and the bridging voice between chapters allowed me to explore the stories theoretically, balancing the narrative within the chapters.

WHAT DID YOU FIND CHALLENGING ABOUT THE PROCESS?

One of the biggest obstacles I faced during the process was facing the ethics of telling this story. Specifically, the trauma that my grandmother endured that is captured in her storyline very much stays with her as well as other members of my family to this day. I knew that it was a sensitive topic to touch on, and I felt a sense of guilt for writing about her pain. But, after considering how important and moving my grandparents’ story was, I knew that writing about it would turn out to be something special.

EXTRACT FROM INFINITY FROM NOTHING

Prologue Trauma is life changing. It does irreversible damage to its victims. It has no mercy and no limits to its cruelty; it grabs you by the neck and doesn’t let go. If you were listening to a psychologist explain trauma, they’d use a plethora of medical terms: adrenaline, prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, the fight or flight response. All very relevant, but all science.

On the opposite side of the spectrum to trauma is love, also one of life’s greatest powers. It heals, mends, and even saves lives. If you were listening to a psychologist explain love, they’d use words like oxytocin, dopamine and neurotransmitters. Again; science.

I have a lot of respect for science. I appreciate its logic and order and evidence base. These days, though, it’s easy to feel like everything has a scientific explanation. Even experiencing trauma or falling in love, two deeply emotional and subjective experiences that the poets would posit depend on fate and destiny, can be completely deconstructed and put back together by neurologists and psychologists.

But something that scientists can’t explain is how a life scarred by trauma, something that haunts you forever, can be somehow changed by love. How the seemingly permanent wounds of trauma can be somewhat healed with love, even if it only takes the edge off the pain.

There are thousands of stories about trauma and love out there. I’ve read so many, and I’m sure you’ve come across a fair few as well. But what I’ve realised is that we don’t have to keep looking through our bookshelves to find answers to questions about love and trauma. We can turn inwards to stories that we already know.

I have two stories. Stories that show how love can help to heal the scars of trauma. I think these stories might teach us more about love and trauma than any scientific paper ever could.

STUDENT: TAYLOR TRAN ● TITLE: FILIAL DISOBEDIENCE ● MEDIUM: CREATIVE NONFICTION – PERSONAL ESSAY WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR WORK ABOUT?

My work takes the form of a personal essay that draws on a pastiche of poetic, imaginative and theoretical voices to explore the kaleidoscopic, complicated and often contradictory nature of personal identities. It is through this metafictive personal essay form, and sustained focus on my own particular personal, and political as an extension, identity that I discuss this more universal theme of interrogating one’s opinions for bias.

My initial intention for the major work was an investigative journalistic piece that detailed my grandfather’s life, but I found that my true interest in him was not his work as a spy during the American War in Vietnam, but how these events had shaped his political identity, and mine as a result. Through extensive research I decided to focus on the effects of diasporic anticommunism as a cultural phenomenon amongst the Vietnamese diaspora, and how this was in conflict with the more socialist beliefs that my generation held and how deep rooted filial piety would always venerate these anticommunist beliefs in a sense of misguided nationalism.

WHAT INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED YOUR MAJOR WORK?

Nam Le’s The Boat anthology had a valuable second generation Vietnamese voice that dominated my more self reflexive vignettes who were contending with being Vietnamese and its implications. I found the poetic, confessional voice of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Sally Rooney’s unreliable and confused narrator voice in Normal People to be influential in the voice of my anecdotal vignettes. In ‘Australia Day’ by Stan Grant and ‘Natives’ by Thomas Akala I found the narrative voices and the integration of critical race theory in the form of a personal essay useful models of how to discuss theory in a personal voice. I was also influenced by Albert Camus in The Stranger and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, an imaginative style of writing imparting a philosophy of guilt in complex family relationships.

WHAT FORM DID YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

Initially, I started the course with an investigative journalism piece following a family history. Upon further investigation and research the concept morphed into a personal essay about the influence of family values on one’s own personal politics, particularly surrounding notions of communism. I felt that the highly personal subject matter called for a highly personal form that the investigative journalistic form did not allow for, and thus the personal essay form was chosen.

EXTRACT FROM FILIAL DISOBEDIENCE

I was so proud of my work. I pressed the oil based colour pencils in until my page was glossy. That’s how you know it’s a good piece of art. Red, so much red, and a pretty yellow star in the middle. I wasn’t too good at staying in between the lines, the start looked like a mass of yellow. I was excited to show my grandpa, I watched the little hand slowly tick away on the clock, closer and closer to pick up time. As I bound out with my colouring in hand to my grandpa, he made a small face. He was always stoic so I paid no mind. In the car, over the bump on the bridge, dinner at the grandparents and pickup from a tired looking mum in the dark.

The next day, grandpa walked me into class. In his hand was a rolled up flag that he had coloured himself, a lot more yellow than mine was. This is the real Vietnamese flag, he says, bordering on forcefully. Ms Tracey looked confronted, but she took it with a smile and smoothed it out, ready to be put on the garland of flags already in class. Jessica’s grandpa also brought one in, one of many Vietnamese girls in my class.

I never remember this being explained to me but amongst my grandma’s ramblings I picked up that the yellow flag with red stripes was our flag. The real flag. The red flag with the bright yellow star was that of the North, it was not ours. For most of my life this distinction felt insignificant, Google said the flag was red. And besides, Vietnam wasn’t divided anymore.

Here you have a key moment that renewed a sense of disjointed nationalism in me. The nuances of Vietnamese diaspora politics was lost on me as a child, but the sense of pride over a homeland that you were forced out of was not. When I looked at that yellow flag I felt a sense of nostalgia, it wasn’t my nostalgia, but I felt it. And though I had never been there, Google said Saigon didn’t exist anymore, it was instilled in me, perhaps unconsciously, that I was to be proud of the country that was - not is.

The effects of subconscious conditioning by my childhood had formed some opinions. They had seemed to add layers to my kaleidoscopic world view and culminated in what I believe was my first moment taking a stance on something.