An art exhibition titled ‘Simply Abstract’ by the students of Elizabeth Moir Senior School took place at the JDA Perera Art Gallery, Horton Place, Colombo 7 recently. Artist and designer Sonali Dharmawardena was the Chief Guest at the event. Speaking about the task of judging the competition, she praised the students for the overall excellent standard of their pieces, and said that everyone deserved a prize for their hard work and creativity.
“The students explored the full breadth of the abstract theme with creativity and enthusiasm. This medium gives artists a great deal of freedom to use their imagination and the students did exactly that. They were also given a mandate to ‘Think sustainable’ and to recycle and up cycle wherever possible. They were very creative in this regard as well which was delightful to see,” says Art teacher of Elizabeth Moir School, Aruni Wijegunawardene.
The School’s Inter-house art competition was a part of the exhibition under the theme ‘People who have made a difference and brought a positive change in our lives’. The four Houses were free to choose one or more famous faces to feature in their artwork, and the murals included Audrey Hepburn, Malala Yousufzai, Pablo Picasso, Princess Diana, Malcolm X and more. Each house also selected a Sri Lankan influencer, with Hillary choosing Otara Gunewardene, Fleming selecting Mahela Jayawardene, Columbus opting for Kumari Jayawardene and Armstrong featuring D.S. Senanayake. The students produced an exceptional range of artwork in many mediums including portraits, paintings, digital artwork, photography and sculpture.
Miu Otsuki won first place in the junior category with Rayyan Hameed in second and Aatikah Rizwan in third place. Winners in the senior category were Kaavya Gnanam in first place, with Zaara Kulatunga and Reanna Bakshini in second and third place respectively. In the overall competition, Fleming took first place, with Hillary in second and Armstrong and Columbus in third and fourth place respectively. Armstrong received special mention for their use of the most number of recycled items. The exhibition also featured work by the school’s current Lower 6 class, all of whom gained A* and A grades at the IGCSE Art exams.
Pix: Ranjith Asanka