Since its inception in 1990, the Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art has been dedicated to recognising and promoting excellence in senior visual art education throughout Queensland schools.
This year, Brisbane State High School had two talented Year 12 students who submitted their artworks. David Donovan was awarded the Excellence Award for his work, 'Homunculus'. David's artwork will be showcased at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in 2024.
Additionally, Ralph Hellen earned a Commendation Award for his entry, 'Illegal Freedom'.
We are proud to see David and Ralph both recognised and celebrated for their creative talents.
Artist Statement – David Donovan (Year 12)
“Homunculus explores the surrealistic nature of human self-consciousness through the lens of photographic art. Homunculus exploits the pattern-seeking and facial recognition abilities of the human brain to capture audiences, the composite face appearing to be seemingly familiar to the audience, despite its coalescent nature. Drawing inspiration from Mary Shelly's gothic literary classic, Frankenstein, Homunculus experiments with editing together digitally sampled portraits of individuals, interleaving them within a single visage. The work's uncanny quality is enhanced by the range of eerily familiar faces incorporated into the composite image. Overall, Homunculus aims to question how we as humans perceive both ourselves and others in relation to each other."
Artist Statement – Ralph Hellen (Year 12)
"Illegal Freedom was created to change the viewer's perception of graffiti art to a more positive point of view. The phrase 'illegal freedom' came from a long brainstorming session while thinking of slogans and logos for an unpublished clothing brand. The phrase perfectly captures graffiti art and what it is in the two words. Graffiti art has been around for thousands of years with drawings on cave walls, which over time evolved into ancient Greeks and Romans writing their names and protest poems on buildings and structures, while more modern graffiti only started up around 1960 in Philadelphia and New York. Graffiti has played a huge role in hip-hop culture and even influenced many famous artists including Basquiat, Kaws, Keith Haring, Banksy and many more. Graffiti has been a large form of art for decades, allowing people to express themselves and promote their art on an anonymous and adrenaline-rushing scale."