Michaela Oberlin-Brown

Governor Stirling Senior High School

Year 12

Oil on canvas

90 x 120 cm

‘Frayed’ is a portrait commenting on the pressure society places on teenagers. The female in the painting is anonymous – the figure could be anyone, exposed and hanging. The white of the ropes represents the figure’s innocence, which is crumbling and frayed. I created this artwork deliberately as I feel pressured by society to be perfect and the stress that I’m under with my grades, job and future is wearing me thin, almost like this figure – on the edge of falling into the unknown.