Isle of Man Students Prize 2023

Portrait in oil paint

This painting was created with unpredictable strokes of oil paint on card.

For centuries, women have been portrayed in various different ways. In the earliest centuries, women were expected to be beautiful at all times, like a precious jewel, to be admired rather than acknowledging the emotions of women as individuals. My objective was to study the true, raw emotions felt by women behind closed doors, during solitude. Emotions that do not fulfil the past ideologies to be perfect and emotionless.

In this piece, I hoped to capture feelings of isolation, anxiety and loneliness. I created this by capturing a vulnerable picture of my mum as the true feelings that women have never been accurately depicted by artists throughout history, communicating her vulnerability while relaxing, a time of solitude. The loose clothing depicts the sacrifices some women make, showing how she prioritises her children over her own material things. I used cold colours on her skin to communicate her vulnerability, using colours such as blue, purple, green and white. I also used specks of pink to represent her humanity as a woman. The couch represents similar colours, representing the emotions of feelings that once you are a mother you blend into the background or in this case the couch, portraying the feeling that she is no longer needed as much by her children, the feeling of no longer being the most important person in their lives. Though to me, expressing her beautiful imperfections.

I have designed this garment for my friend who was diagnosed with scoliosis. While on the two-year waiting list for her surgery, the spine of her curve had increased by 30% which had caused her hips, shoulders and ribs to all be unaligned. The surgery lasted 12 hours in which two metal rods and twenty screws were placed in her back. After the operation, she had to learn to walk and sit again. This has led me to create a custom fit specifically for her as this operation affected her body image and how she saw herself. The main objective of this project was to ensure that the garment constructed is lightweight and comfortable to fit my client’s needs. I have created a flowy skirt for comfort and moveability and a corset to support the wearer.

A series of digitally drawn images exploring the concept of cyber punk.

A study of the student’s father in the style of Hope Gangloff.

Peep into the houses and try to imagine living here. I want to create awareness about the increasing amount of abandoned houses. The buildings are stacked to symbolise the rising issue, which is paralleled with the growth in homelessness. Even though we do not hear about it often, many houses are being left alone for years at a time, letting nature regenerate and take them over. The burn marks and crumbled walls/floors are the result of a fire that has taken place forcing people to leave their homes and the rust marks suggest that they have been left for a long amount of time. Some of the houses are less stable than others making it look like they are about to fall over and decay even further, which adds to the unease and feeling of instability. There are a few that fall into others, which tells us that not only is it individual houses that collapse and decay, but also whole villages and/or cities.

For this project I was fascinated with the idea of a ‘Future Dystopia’. This is the title I chose to give my concept, which explores ideas such as dystopia, alien forms, industrial shapes, and echoes the aesthetic that is associated with futuristic, cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic worlds. I wanted to challenge myself with this project by using unconventional materials such as plastic and metal, through a fashion and textiles perspective, to create something that is innovative and almost ahead of its time, something of the future.

I wanted to capture the beauty of the shore and the wax and wane of the tide – ever changing, but always the same.

A series of oil paintings which display the inevitable decay of man made structures and nature reclaiming them.

A study of the artist’s mother in the style of Hope Gangloff

Oil on Canvas

The girls getting ready for a night out and the stages as we progress though an evening to dawn

Exploring power struggles and the political divide.

Description: The style of this oil painting takes an example from Junna Maruyama’s works. The childlike innocence in the eyes of the characters she painted is the character that koalas give me. Unfortunately, Bush fires in Australia have killed a significant number of koalas. So, I decided to draw a painting of personified koala to evoke people’s sympathy. I spent the most time on the eyes and ears because the eyes make the look of childlike innocence, and the ears are the main element of a koala.

Oil on Canvas Inspired by Jenny Saville’s treatment of weight and beauty in Propped, Stretched portrays the relationship between mind and body; of love yet loathing and isolation.

Textiles corset based on primary photos taken in and around Manx glens and plantations. Focusing on bark, leaves and texture.

An exploration of the concept of the abyss.

This piece was inspired by Ed Fairburn, I moved once when I am growing up and I wanted to commemorate my connection to my hometown by drawing me as a child and now on separate corresponding maps. Creating this work with two different pens resonates with the growth of my appearance, as well as my mindset.

“The girls” – that is what my family call me and my sister. In exploring time in my major project, I have realised “The girls” never left “The Garden”. Me and my sister, as girls, will always live in my grandmas garden in her memory.

Exploring the amount of words and information we are bombarded with in our everyday lives.