Matric's artworks on show

TWELVE visual arts pupils from Brandwag High School had the chance to showcase various pieces of artwork at an exhibition at the Barkley Street Theatre in Uitenhage on Monday.

The exhibition incorporated mixed medium works and pupils had to "think out of the box" when deciding on what they would like to have on display.

Brandwag's visual arts teacher, Dewald van der Westhuizen, introduced sculpting at the school.

Van der Westhuizen said Brandwag pupils "needed to incorporate different mediums into their artworks, going above and beyond the formal aspects of art".

The pupils' exhibits formed part of their matric syllabus and incorporated all the works they completed this year.

They had to produce their pieces under strict examination rules and spent a maximum of 18 hours creating each piece.

Brandwag High is one of only a handful of Eastern Cape schools that offer visual arts as part of the Grade 12 syllabus.

Van Der Westhuizen said this was the first time pupils had exhibited their work.

The exhibition was organised by Grade 12 pupils Estee Skein and Elme van de Vyfer, both 18.

Skein produced one of the focal points of the exhibition Burn, Our Beloved Country, a sculpture made of melted plastic.

The piece depicts a person being necklaced, in reference to the brutal deaths suffered by many South Africans, especially during apartheid.

"The Barkley Street Theatre was the perfect venue to stage this event and I was very happy with the amount of people who came to see our work," Skein said.

Van de Vyfer's painting Desperate Provincial City is based on Johannesburg and how it has changed over the last 100 years.

Van de Vyfer said she chose the city, which she referred to as a "people magnet", because of the way people moved there in search of a better life.

"It is an amazing feeling to see your work up there and people admiring it. For me that was reward enough for all our hard work," she said. - Amir Chetty