The student works from the latest annual art exhibition organized by the Macau Anglican School (MAC) have been sent off to England’s Cambridge University for assessment.
The paintings showcased at the common area on the school building’s fifth floor were actually course work by the senior students. They are enrolled in art courses linked to Cambridge University’s educational system, whose Cambridge International General Certificate of Education (IGCSE) has been integrated into the school’s curriculum. Artworks from those courses were sent to the prestigious British university last week.
Wendy Choi, a form six student and aspiring professional dancer, candidly expressed her satisfaction with her art piece from last year, and once again devoted her artistic coursework to a dancing-related topic. “I would like to express the movement while dancing [through this painting] because a lot of times people only admire the beauty of dancing, yet nobody sees the genuine dynamic there,” said the student. She continued: “I intended to highlight it with the color of purple, and some parts are seen as obscure, so it seems to be emerging from the background, enveloped in movement.”
The seemingly colorful painting, in which a giant pistol pointing at the head of a grouchy man, was created by the Macanese student Albertino, who told the Times that it was a reflection of his mental struggles with personal issues in daily life.
“It means […] I am trying to escape reality, to go back to the memories, like the happy moments I used to have. And the gun is the reality, stress, and the issues that make me unhappy and make me try to escape back into the memories,” said the Macanese student, adding that the colorfully messy background loaded with different heads were the “happy moments and people” in his life.
Another abstract painting records the endless, yet youthful adventure through the city of Cassidy James Lichtenstein, a devout fan of bicycle motocross. “So basically I included different factors into my painting, like the places where I BMX, the movement and the speed of the BMX. My point is we don’t stop even if it’s a stop, and we keep going past the stop signs,” said the senior student, who also mentioned during the interview that he would like to continue his passion for art after school by joining the marketing and advertising industry.
The household story, “A frog in a well”, was local student Kimberly’s theme for her painting, which also depicts her innermost desire to venture out of the city and into the world. “The parents of the frog inside the painting say there are lots of monsters outside, and you will likely starve or drown. It’s a lot safer to stay in this ordinary world without anything,” said the schoolgirl, referring to the world described inside the painting as the city we dwell in.
The concept of family varies from one person to another. To Choi Peng, who very much values her family members, a Chinese reunion dinner is the perfect topic to depict. The entire dinner scene was created from her own perspective, with a large calligraphic Chinese character drawn, which, according to her, carried an ancient meaning of “giving and taking.” Aside from that, the schoolgirl added a special touch to her painting with dried tea leaves applied on its surface to give the piece a traditional Chinese feel.
Truly touched by the students’ creative products, course instructors Paulo Bishop and Anne Cameron believe that students just have to follow their hearts and not focus on accuracy when it came to creating art. “Each student has their unique, personal vision and dreams. As teachers, our ambition for them is to put their whole hearts into their work and to realize their ideas and ambitions,” both said. Mr Bishop and Ms Cameron were responsible for developing the students’ skills, techniques and research ability. Staff reporter
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