Stars in her paintbrushes
Concern about light pollution inspired Myrna Brown’s scholarship artwork
Myrna Brown knows to the universe she is merely a speck of dust. She’s also a speck of dust that can paint, receiving a perfect 24 in scholarship painting.
That mark gives the Palmerston North student the top subject scholarship award for painting for 2021.
Myrna says she was “very surprised” and “shocked” with her scholarship score. “It feels like a dream.”
For NCEA Level 3 painting, students had to pick a social issue they were passionate about. They could choose to do scholarship painting, which required them to document their process in a workbook.
Myrna’s social issue was light pollution — excess artificial light reducing our ability to see the stars at night.
In her final year at Palmerston North Girls’ High School, she wanted to revisit her strong childhood memories of going to the observatory and of sitting outside on the porch with her family learning about constellations. Both her parents are passionate about stars, Myrna says.
Born in England, Myrna lived in North Berwick in Scotland before moving to Palmerston North when she was 6. Moving from a small town to a city, she realised it was easy to lose perspective if you can’t see the stars.
The 18-year-old says her family has always felt the night sky gives you a sense of identity, reminding us of our place in the universe and how we’re just a speck of dust in the great scheme of things.
For Level 3 NCEA, Myrna painted in acrylic and oil, submitting three A1-size panels of work. She wasn’t that confident painting with oil and thanks her teachers for helping her grow in that medium.
The paintings depict a loss of fascination in the stars as urban lights take over.
Light pollution is considered to be the leading cause in the decline of native insects and nocturnal animals, she says.
Through our increasing use of light in urban areas we are sacrificing our view that gives us a visual reminder of Matariki and failing to protect a beautiful part of Ma¯ori culture.
Myrna says millions of children in coming generations may never see a sky full of stars. She asks why is it that most people have no awareness of the damage their excess light causes.
Last year she also did Japanese, biology, classical studies and design. She also gained a scholarship for design. For design, she developed Lights Out, a company and awareness campaign product to inform and educate people on light pollution. Her proposal was money from the sale of telescopes and stargazing information would go to fund teaching of astronomy in schools, inform people how they can help prevent increasing night glow, and educate them on the solar system and constellations.
She developed the slogans “save the dark” and “let’s repaint the sky”.
This year, Myrna will study at the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.
She finds painting therapeutic. In the real world people don’t have many opportunities to visit dreamlike environments, she says. Painting helps you get out of your busy or stressful lifestyle.
She has just finished a commission from her uncle. Working in oil and from a photo, she has captured her grandfather and his grandson.
She says until you start painting you don’t tend to realise how much blue and yellow is on a white shirt, how much is in an object. “It helps you to see little objects and how intricate life is.”