Student profiles: Eirian Chapman

Santa Maria College
VCE Art

My theme at the start of the year was people, because it was such a broad area to explore. I began to experiment with loneliness in relation to the human form.

My major influence was Egon Schiele because of his use of line when drawing and painting the figure. At first I chose to experiment with pencil using line and then with gouache and copper wire. I also observed the figure through life drawing classes and street magazines. Photoshop introduced me to the kinds of layers and colours evident in my lonely people box.

 

Most of my smaller works are contained in a box or a book that can be opened and presented in different ways, and I used rag paper to conserve the pieces.

Music was a major influence especially PJ Harvey’s lyrics which heightened my theme of loneliness. I also used films like Drowning by Numbers as a resource as well as art magazines, theatre productions, websites, the 2002 Top Arts exhibition and the local library.

 

One of the highlights of my Visual Arts studies in 2002 was going to the Sydney Biennale for 4 days. It opened my eyes to an immense range of artistic possibilities.