Mould

Alice Wu

Year: 11

School: Willetton Senior High School

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

Artist statement: My painting shows how people are put into a ‘mould’ since they are little so that they can
be educated to become a person that the society expects them to be. I’ve painted my
younger brother, Eric, in a still posture with his hands behind his back to symbolise that
children are often restricted. He softly smiles towards the camera (viewer), showing the
idea of innocence that consists within children. Artist Adam Chang’s use of blocky brush
stokes in his paintings inspired me to leave the wall in the background more textured and
unblended to contrast with the rest of the painting which is more smoothed and blended in
texture. I also used cool blue and text and equations on the wall to suggest to the viewer
the toughness of education at a very young age. It contrasted with the warm brown tones
on the floor where toys are placed. I’m not fully satisfied with the background as it seems a
bit dull and dark in colour and how limited I could place details in due to the small size of
the canvas. I think my artwork is quite successful in communicating its
meaning as the elements I used were quite symbolic.