Shiya Tong, 18, Hong Kong
The theme for my IB artwork this year was “Growth.” I am 18 and something is changing inside of me as well as my understanding of my family. I put my complex feelings and emotions into my artwork.
Moving on from my earlier work, I have taken greater risks and have gone out of my comfort zone of using paper to creating three-dimensional and digital pieces, such as video art and sculptures. I have broadened my perception of scale and media and my perspective has become wilder and more ambitious. Another change in my work has been to use more Chinese elements. For example, I’ve adopted Chinese landscape painting into my artwork and used an old technique of Chinese art that involves the flow of movement sideways from top to bottom in a fluid manner, very similar to the style used in Chinese calligraphy or that of a dragon’s body.
I have used surrealism in most of my pieces as it is a movement I am deeply influenced by. I have illusions which I put into art, creating a dreamy feeling with the objective of taking my audience beyond reality.
Amy Gill, 19, South Korea
My artworks explore movement, because I was heavily influenced by my immigration to China. After moving here, I was quite frightened and nervous, however I gained confidence through art, and got used to it. I expanded this idea into my art in different ways.
I worked with general thoughts of life and death, and started to see the theme of movement in a new perspective. I use diverse sources to develop my artwork such as visiting The Korean National Gallery, reading books in Chinese, and visiting contemporary galleries in Beijing. I use the western style of oil painting and eastern material such as Chinese paper and Chinese ink to create installations and sculptures. I primarily start from 2D artwork and stretch the idea into 3D artwork using site-specific sculpture.
As I’ve progressed, I’ve started changing my use of materials. I use sumi ink with an ink pen to draw on a 2D paper canvas and develop it into a 3D piece. I believe one of my strengths is that I take risks with diverse materials even though I am not always successful.
This article originally appeared on page 50-51 of the beijingkids August 2015 issue. Click here to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com.
