Art shows world through teens’ eyes
Digital artworks sit alongside striking paintings and eyecatching photography in an exhibition by 100 teenagers at Creative Napier’s CAN Gallery.
The show includes more than 120 works by Year 12 students from six high schools: William Colenso College, Napier Boys’ High School, Tamatea High School, Napier Girls’ High School, Taradale High School and Sacred Heart College.
“It’s a great opportunity to see the world through the eyes of our city’s most creative young people,” says William Colenso College art department head Laura Jackson.
Images include native birds, beggars on Emerson St, celebrities, skulls and much more.
The Year 12 show was formerly a combined Hawke’s Bay exhibition that ran annually in Hastings for about 10 years.
“Since CAN opened in Napier in 2014 the schools have taken advantage of a good venue on our doorstep, which makes it much easier for students and whanau to see the work professionally presented in a real art gallery.”
The exhibition has been on for a fortnight and closes tomorrow, September 13.
William Colenso College 16-year-old Sheridan IhaiaRogers says her design portfolio focused on a fictional fashion label called A+Fash.
As well as the photographs on show at the CAN, she was creating swing tag labels, mockups of billboard advertising, and branding for a website and cellphone app.
Sheridan has family members in the fashion business and creative clothing was “always something I’ve played around with”.
“I was always getting in trouble for cutting up clothes and bleaching some when I was younger.”
She doubts she will make fashion her career but enjoys being able to explore her interests creatively.
Year 10 student Layla Christison was the model for Ihaia-Rogers’ fashion photography.
“Next year I hope to expand on my art board and actually use pieces of clothing I’ve designed and made myself and Layla will be my model again.”