Year 11’s Visual Arts excursion: MCA and Cockatoo Island
On Wednesday, 19th February, the Year 11 Visual Arts class had an all-day excursion to the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art and Cockatoo Island. The MCA currently has a retrospective exhibition of the work of Julie Mehretu, one of America’s most significant contemporary artists. She creates large-scale drawings, paintings, and prints. Walking into this exhibition felt like walking into a light-hearted movie; the feelings and ‘vibes’ came alive from the paintings from the moment we entered. The abstract artwork appeared simple at first inspection, yet it was enticing to the eye, making every viewer feel something. The scale of the paintings in the exhibition was wild, ranging from small paper sketches to human-sized paintings to enormous works. A variety of techniques such as ink, printing, etching, and acrylic painting were displayed. The carefully considered placement of lines and colours in the paintings gave us a unique view of her world, where the underscored lines of life were presented.
Following our visit to the MCA, we caught a ferry to Cockatoo Island for an afternoon of artmaking. The journey to Cockatoo Island was informative and educational. The history behind the industrial buildings and convict settlements was interesting and eye-opening. Additionally, the excursion provided an authentic view of what Australia looked like in the early years after Europeans arrived when it was a penal colony and later, when its function became one of boat building. Walking through the various rooms of the prison buildings, we witnessed and learned about the grim living conditions once experienced by European convicts.
We created two bodies of work depicting the island’s varying landscapes. The first was a one-point perspective drawing inside the Mess Hall, which was an engaging activity. Through this process, we developed techniques using tone, line, colour, and the aim of capturing a sense of depth. Our second work began following a walk to the waterside crane. Here, we saw and engaged with a range of Australian wildlife and plants. We constructed a white charcoal drawing on black paper, capturing the structural features of the crane as well as the surrounding built and natural environment.
Overall, the trip to Cockatoo Island was an incredibly enjoyable and pleasant experience, with strong elements of artmaking inspired by historical events of Sydney’s past.
