Being accepted into Top Arts was a dream come true, and even now, less than a week before the opening, it still scarcely seems real. The opportunity to be exhibiting amongst some of the best and brightest of Melbourne’s young emerging artists is one that I am absolutely ecstatic to have.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of being part of Top Arts is the exposure to the general public it will give my work. The idea that multitudes of people will wander through the Gallery and see my artworks is exhilarating. As a young artist, large scale exposure is a huge stepping stone towards further work and success. After school I would like to study Fine Arts, ideally at the Victorian College of the Arts. I’m hoping that having exhibited in Top Arts will be a feather in cap for acceptance into VCA or another course.
Over the past couple of years, I have seen a number of my friends exhibit in Top Arts, and their work has inspired me to drive my own practice in new conceptual directions. At the end of last year when I finally developed a folio of resolved works for Studio Arts, I applied with high hopes, but I could hardly have imagined that both of my final series would be shortlisted, and that my series “Conception” would actually be accepted.
I eagerly anticipate people having the chance to view my work and then draw their own interpretations from it. I like to think of my work as something with the capacity to provoke thought and be unsettling, something that the viewer will remember and think about even after leaving the exhibition. If my work can inspire a reaction or spark an idea in at least one viewer each day, then I will consider it a success.