Royal Academy recognition

Published on isbi School News dated Monday 4th of July 2016

The Art department at St Benedict’s School is thrilled that the Royal Academy has chosen Astrid Sewell Risley’s artwork titled ‘Frankenfruit’ for its 2016 A Level online exhibition and shortlisted a further three entries from this year’s cohort. This is a remarkable result for the Ealing school – a tribute to the talent of the students and the excellent teaching of the staff. 1,400 aspiring artists attending sixth form colleges or schools submitted their work and 46 exceptional works of art were selected by the expert panel: Royal Academicians Bob and Roberta Smith, Head of Architecture Kate Goodwin, and RA Schools student Claire Undy. Year 13 Art students at St Benedict’s - Megan Hunt, Jess Miles-Kingston and Charlie Sanderson - had their artwork shortlisted for the exhibition. All four works of art can be viewed on the Royal Academy A Level online gallery at: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/a-level-exhibition-online-2016 Astrid Sewell Risley’s work – ‘Frankenfruit’ - was influenced by Marc Quinn’s Eternal Spring pieces. “His concept of preserving nature’s flowers in an unnatural way inspired me to do the same with fruit and vegetables. However, in my piece, instead of preserving them in their natural state as Quinn does, I peeled, bit chunks out of, chopped and mismatched the fruit and vegetables and then sewed them back together to create a mismatched form. This piece challenges society’s need to constantly change and manipulate the standards of normality and beauty, in order to please ourselves.” Megan Hunt’s Childhood 2 is a series of wax sculptures developed from a mould taken of a Moai Statue from her mother's collection. Using multiple casts in wax melted from crayons, a material reminiscent of her childhood, the artwork comments on the fleeting nature of memory and innocence. Jess Miles-Kingston’s ‘Garden Chair’ explores the idea of form over function. His artwork embodies how functional items can be subtly manipulated and undergo a metamorphosis from product to sculpture. Charlie Sanderson’s ‘Film Noir’ film explores the potential of light in creating atmosphere through revealing and concealing elements of the environment. Bob and Roberta Smith commented: “The exhibition includes work that is thoughtful, almost psychedelic, poetic, elegiac, but also funny and romantic. We, the judges, loved looking at the breadth and skill of all the entries. Congratulations to all the young artists who submitted works to the A-Level Summer Exhibition Online. Good luck to all these students, and we hope to see you in Art school!”