Isle of Man Students Prize 2025

My drawing ‘Kes’ explores the power of nature and human connection, I wanted to show a journey of self discovery and struggles of aspiration.

Inspired by Damien Hirsts studies of butterfly’s and exploring his techniques this painting created on a spinning wheel is a dynamic blast of colour, detail and skill. Varnished to give it a high-quality shine this is an outstanding piece of Art created by Poppy for her A-Level Project. Please note that this is submitted as one piece of artwork.

Where are you going? I often get asked this question. Walking , one of lifes simple pleasures. Get out into nature, clear your head, think about the day and what has happened when you go for a walk. Here I responded to this idea, considering space and special places I go to be on my own and come back refreshed. I travelled through the space of the Heritage trail on the Isle of Man. I stopped. I rested. I took off my shoes!

This painting is a celebration of dynamic line, form and materials Inspired by the aesthetic of maps.

My piece is a portrait of my Head of Sixth Form, who has played an important part in my academic career over the last couple of years. I wanted to produce a painting that reflected his personality, and the positivity that he brings to our school, I decided that as he is a ‘larger than life’ character it would be fitting to do it in the energetic, expressive style. This expressive portrait captures the larger than life personality of the Head of Sixth Form through bold colour, dramatic composition, and symbolic detail. My aim was not just to depict a likeness but to reflect his vibrant character, generous spirt, and deep religious values. The exaggerated facial expression and dynamic tilt of the head convey energy and enthusiasm, echoing the way he often dominates a room with presence and passion. Around his head, I included elements inspired by religious iconography-like the gold circular halo and star motifs. These are deliberate references to his devout Christian faith and give a slightly saint like, yet iconic, twist to the piece. The classical column to the side hints at structure, tradition and authority, while the playful dice and game like symbols within the design allude to his fun, unpredictable side. Through this portrait I wanted to celebrate not only how he looks, but who he is; generous, passionate, loud, and ultimately unforgettable.

Sectioned vibrant painting of a selection of kitchen and food related items layered to give a unified effect. Split up into smaller squares to replicate a shelve- like structure.

This painting captures the creatures from the deep seas around the world.

Inspired by my visits to Cornwall and St Ives where I saw many beautiful sea-scape paintings. It was clear that many artists had been inspired by the beautiful vistas. This was easy to relate too, being from the Isle of Man. Our Island is also beautiful offering many views off our coastline. After taking many photos and spending time looking at the changing light and shimmering sea, I created my painting of the view ‘From a beach in the Isle of Man’.

I have developed a video game character design inspired by Celtic culture and filigree flower embellishments. The story follows main protagonist, Mairi, in Heaven as she overcomes multiple obstacles in order to help her friends. The plot twist at the end is Mairi turning on the audience, therefore breaking down the fourth wall and the play having to battle against her in-game. I wanted her design to be drawn digitally due to the scale, and stick to contemporary themes. Colours are inspired predominantly by the Book of Kells, and golden armour to stray away from the stereotypical silver. Her hair is cleverly shaped to replicate Triskelions.

I Know, is a piece that captures the mood and the attitude of students in 2025. Large in scale and with a bold message this is a controversial piece that has promoted a lot of healthy discussion. At this school it has also played its part in an updated uniform policy! The project was about protest, and this is an issue a lot of schools and parents will find very familiar!

The work of Frans Masereel ‘s wood cuts “in the city” led me to consider how I could represent my environment around Laxey. I developed a stylised design of the tram lines in Laxey, and explored my imagery through lino printing. I like the loneliness of the figure, silhouetted against the street lighting.

Painting with added textural elements.

This piece of work was my response to the exam question – MOTION. I have been intrigued with the ideas of recording how our movements build to create a performance. The repetition of an action when watching my friend play led me to develop this piece. Analytical Cubism and the work of George Braque and the piece “Mandolin player” proved to be a heavy influence.

I was greatly inspired by the intriguing ecosystems that live within the forests on the Isle of Man. I find the atmosphere within this environment soothing and picturesque; I especially love how Ivy wraps around the trees which I tried to interpret into my piece. My bodice explores the natural textures and intricate details I discovered on my visits to the forests through a range of surface manipulation techniques including soldering, felting, hand and machine embroidery. My aim was to create a hyper realistic piece that mirrored my experiences in the forest.

A painting to capture the feeling of ‘third man syndrome’ , the feeling of being followed or watched. A feeling that can make you stop dancing, praying, playing piano, singing and eating. This painting is part of a healing journey as it helped take these feelings away.

This oil painting was inspired by my love of the ocean and sunsets, capturing the jump in time between dusk and dawn, and focusing on the power of light.

This painting is a portrait of a middle-aged mother, whose children have recently left home, and the work explores that moment of identity loss , when everything you have been for years suddenly changes, and you are left asking, what now?. I wanted to use a really unusual angle, with the viewer looking up at the woman’s body, her feet pushed right into the foreground. This creates a strong, almost uncomfortable intimacy. The pose is kind of defensive , arms wrapped tightly around herself, knees pulled in , like she is trying to hold herself together. It feels protective, as though she is not quite ready to face the world again. The face is left unresolved, which was a deliberate choice to reflect her uncertainty about who she is now. For so long, her identity has been built around caring for her children, and now that they are gone, she is stuck in the middle. The lack of detail in the face shows that ambiguity ,it is like even she doesn’t know who she is becoming yet.

My passion for fashion has led me to focus on creating a piece of wearable art, a garment which is both wearable and creative. My inspiration came from the nature around me, more specifically the sea, natural forms, and the natural green landscape. My journey began by researching local beauty spots on the Island to gather a wide range of primary research. I was able to take inspiration from the colours, shapes and forms around me to direct my chosen theme. I found my major interest in structural shapes within nature, and developed my work around a motif from a manx palm tree. I experimented with many materials, techniques and processes to eventually find my direction in manipulation of fabrics, predominantly using the laser cutter to create fabric shapes which I layered on repeat. Designers such as Iris Van Herpen have inspired me through the creation of my piece with things such as movement and placement, this encouraged me to bring drama and inventiveness with the celebration of colour. All of my individual shapes have been laser cut and formed to a base garment, I have styled my model to look like a showgirl. Photography and styling have been instrumental in how I have presented my work. As a viewer I hope you are able to see the fun element of my piece, and enjoy the presentation of my garment.

This painting came from a project about iconic women. Suzanne Lenglen was chosen as her story was the most captivating. She was world number one from 1921-1926. She revolutionised the sport of women’s tennis by integrating the aggressive style of men’s tennis into the women’s game and breaking the convention of women competing in clothing unsuitable for tennis. She incorporated fashion into her matches highlighted by her bandeau headwear. She was recognised as the first female athlete to become a global sports celebrity. She was known as ‘La Divine’ (The Goddess). The stencil technique is inspired by Banksy and fitting of Suzanne Lenglen’s rebellious, bold and successful career.

Exploring texture from form all around me I created this piece through a dynamic exploration of my immediate surroundings and the influence of other artists who have created 3D relief art work. This piece emerges from the canvas without fear. This is an exploration of mixed media technique that is impossible to truly understand through a photograph. It is all about texture from form.

This was a response made for my GCSE photography examination under the title of Flora and Fauna.

The Garden is an exploration of floral form using Geli Print techniques and drawing culminating in this explosion of colour, shape and depth capturing the essence of a beautiful garden.

Influenced by Zhou Fang, I researched Chinese culture. Attracted by various traditional wedding clothes, I learned a lot about wedding traditions and the position of women. I extended from wedding dresses to women’s lack of rights in ancient China. Before marriage, they must listen to their parents’ words, and after marriage, they must listen to their husbands’ words. They had no right to decide their own lives. The face covered by the red fan is a metaphor for the hidden identity of women.

Close-up.

This piece is to depict the entertaining side of the famous TT races. I chose a comic strip layout, cartoon style and detailed drawing set against vibrant colours to showcase the lively atmosphere brought to all during TT fortnight.

I used oil pastel to create the fish. The back ground is in cold tones and the fish in warm tones.

Every year for my birthday I used to always wish for a new phone, new clothes or a lot of money, but now all I wish for is for the war in my home country – Ukraine, to end. Experiencing war has been very difficult and hard for me as I had to leave all my previous life behind. War has impacted me a lot. I started to appreciate every single day of my life. Little primitive things like having a dinner with my family, being able to sleep without hearing sirens and seeing my friends every day turned out to be something that had to be appreciated hugely. By painting objects that represent Ukrainian culture in traditional Ukrainian decorative style – Samchykivka painting, I portrayed how I see my bright and happy childhood. But as you look into the paintings, you can find some horrific quotes that represent my thought and concerns about war. My main aim was to make the viewers understand that we only live once and you can never predict what will happen next. Find happiness in every moment, go out, spend time with your family and friends until it all becomes a memory you might not be able to relive again!

This piece is kind of about how breakfast cereal ads are super playful and weird. I made a collage with a spiky, disheveled chicken in it – it’s almost like those mornings when you get woken up and you’re just not ready to be awake yet.

My work had been based around my interest in structures. I was intregued by the contrast around Douglas of the Victorian buildings and the contempary architecture. I was drawn to the Life boat launch – those areas that we don’t spend time noticing. I was drawn to the work of John Piper, and I develop a mono print before layering and constucting a painted image of the exciting structure hidden under the life boat station.

This piece is a conceptual model of an art gallery and studio built in harmony with a Manx tholtan. When visiting the island’s Tholtans I fell in-love with the scenery at The Point in Ballaugh, this was something I wanted to share through my design. I chose to use materials that stood out from the site to draw attention to the unique textures of the brickwork.