Class 114

Interconnection
- Emmanuel Chow

My work is an exploration into a visual expression of human connection through a physical medium. To achieve this, I used red thread, a common symbol of fate and connection in some Asian cultures, as well as hands - things we often use to communicate with each other.

Each of these plaster hands are molded from different individuals, all of whom I may have never met had I not decided to come to VFS. Without these relationships, this artwork would never have taken form. Each model was allowed to choose their own pose, and the variations in hand size and poses help to illustrate the subtle differences between individuals.

I've always been fascinated by human relationships, and how our complex connections to each other can influence our lives. Working on this project has brought me closer to my peers and helped me to better understand and appreciate the people around me.

Materials: Plaster, wood, armature wire.

Pass
- Minsu Kwak

Pass is a painting about a tiger symbolizing 2022 and a black rabbit symbolizing 2023. It is a picture that wishes everyone luck in 2023 by handing over a beacon with a hopeful meaning beyond the eventful 2022. I used Korean elements and rough expression techniques. You can find hope and joy brightly expressed among the chaotic events expressed in rough brush strokes. Don't forget the positivity no matter how hard things get mixed up.

Materials: Water color paper, Korean Ink

Nostalgic Clay Figure
- Bryan Wu

This work was inspired by "Cross Game" a baseball slice of life anime I watched as a kid. I made her to symbolize the idea that art can take on a life of its own beyond what the artist originally intended. The character is an original fictional child called Kitamura Wakaba, daughter of the Protagonist and Heroine from the original story. She grows up to love Baseball as much as her parents and wishes to become a professional baseball player one day.

She is in a bad mood right now hearing about the difficulties her mother faced due to being a girl trying to play baseball beyond high school in Japan. By making her a Clay Sculpture, she is occupying the same 3D space as the rest of us. Maybe as technology continue advancing, our imaginations as artist will one day be as real as any of us.

Materials: Clay, Procreate, Adobe Animate.

The Wall
- Hila Eliyassi

On September 16th, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died at the hands of Iran's "Morality Police." Since then, Iran has been rocked by the biggest protests ever seen in the last 43 years. This counter-revolution was led by women, the 1st of its kind in history. However, our younger generation’s outstanding courage and persistence intensified these protests. In the past three months, so many have been killed and arrested. The majority of them were teenagers and young kids. As with any other Iranian, I was inspired by their bravery. The Wall is a tribute to all the astonishing young people who taught us how to resist oppression and violence and fight for our freedom. This project depicts a prison's concrete and impenetrable walls—a prison with no windows, doors, or stairs. The only way out is by the raven hair of a beautiful young woman whose name became a symbol.

Materials: Wood (MDF and Plywood), Fiber Paste, Plaster, Synthetic Hair, Acrylic Paint

Colorful Expressions
- Elisaveta Shaikovskaia

Most of us are afraid to express emotions due to lots of reasons: some looks at it as a weakness and others were forbidden to even acknowledge them. Therefore, some of us are having a hard time understanding our emotional statement which might leads us to mental health crises. With this interactive project, I aim to give my audience a chance to express their emotions even if they are not used to it or embarrass to admit them.

I have a strong desire to show people that there's no “bad” or “good” emotions, that it's okay to feel what and how they feel and that holding it up all inside is not the best way to solve the problems. I created 4 series paintings by water colours, markers and collage on canvas. In this work I wanted to understand how different colours and forms can represent our emotions.

Each of my paintings shows different feelings: anger, happiness, depression and embarrassment. Showing your emotions is not a shame! In order to help you to start express them and take care of your mental health I made central canvas. Feel free to take on of colorful papers on table, write on them your emotions and pin it on central head!

Materials: Watercolor and markers on canvas

Marunouchi by Night
- Kaito Sugii

The project depicts a location in Tokyo which I am very fond of and I have created this piece in hopes of sharing this dazzling scene with others.

This project is for people who love the stunning, exciting, and captivating atmosphere of the city lights.

Materials: Pixel art.

Subtle Imprisonment
- Eunice Lee

Clay. A medium that is very malleable yet nearly indestructible when it hardens its essence becomes static. In humans when we have a habit or addiction it hardens the way it becomes second nature to us. The cats represent modern society and it’s revealed how addiction such as phone and nicotine addiction is detrimental to both well-being and thought patterns. By being submerged in a fishbowl, the cats are drowning without knowing the addiction is weighing them down, and they’re unable to break free from the walls of the fishbowl. As they continue to drown it gets harder for them to come out, parallel to addiction and how many old people find it difficult to quit certain habits. The transparency of the fishbowl looks as if there is no imprisonment.

Discipline is the biggest embodiment of self-love. Addiction takes away freedom, like the cats in the fishbowl, and sometimes many people look over that their body has feelings too, so we must always treat it with love as we would to a loved one.

Materials: Clay, Acrylic paint, resin.

2D vs 3D
- Joao Francisco Neto

I aways loved animation and been aspired to become an animator since little. I started learning 2d animation and greatly enjoying it. But in time, I came to learn about 3d animation, and became in love with that medium too. I noticed that most animation students normally have a preference between CGI or classical animation when they start, while I love practicing them both equally, but the majority of the market demands specialization from the professionals, making me feel pressured to master only one of the two mediums while I wish I could continue to studying them both.

The bouncing animation tool, in continue movement forward, ever changing between a 2D pencil and 3D stylus pen, symbolizes my indecision in my path studying animation. In the video we see a same scene represented in the two mediums, allowing us to observe both their perks and beauties.

Materials: Maya, Adobe After effects, Light table, printer, 90 printed paper sheets, 90 drawn paper sheets, 4b graphite pencil

Home From Utopia
- Mengyu Shen

Utopia is a three digital painting series that was created by procreate software. My goal was to create fairy tale houses that could be used in illustration or video games. By using things that can be seen in everyday life such as mushrooms, fondue pots and teapots I create my "Utopia". The reason I chose these three things is because I think their shape is more suitable for transforming into a house. My main goal with this Project is to challenge and enhance my drawing skills on the tablet using the procreate software's functions. At the same time, I hope to use this opportunity to learn how to use different brushes, effects and layers. I looked at this project as an opportunity to strengthen my skills for my future practice which is the animation concept art.

Materials: Procreate. Digital painting.

Shades Of Day
- Neli Hernandez

My artwork is called Shades of a Day. I was inspired by my routine. I often have to wake up quite early to take the train to my classes. In doing so I often got to see the sunrise while on the train. As well, on my way home I have often been able to see the sunset/night sky. I realized, when considering what to create, that I am able to see beautiful sky's that most people either, do not have the time, or simply miss due to their schedules. I decided to capture those moments by creating 4 watercolor paintings. I created a Sunset, Sunrise, a Night sky with a Full Moon, and a Night sky filled with Stars. I used watercolor canvas, as well as watercolor paints to create these. I used various brushes to blend the colors together, as well as a blending technique done by using paper towels to lift off some of the color from the canvas. I layered the colors to create strong vibrant colors.

Materials: Watercolor on wooden board

The Malfunctioning Robot
- Rylan Ugalde-Lopez

At first I didn’t know what the meaning was for my character. But, throughout the process my character began to have much more meaning. The character became a recreation of myself and how I felt about myself. I felt somewhat like a robot following the daily tasks of everyday life, but I just wanted to have some fun and cherish it. Like myself I have many passions and one of those is my style. Although, it make look simple I add things to make it standout, like the star on the shirt. I added the RGB LED lights to add a lot more fun, just like how I enjoy to party!

This piece helped me reflect on myself and what I want in life. Despite the fact I want to party and have fun, sometimes it’s better to lay back and cherish those moments as well.

Materials: 3D printed model, paint and resin.

Invisible Weight
- Carson Foxall

Invisible Weight is a sculpture that is meant to represent my experince with anxiety. The feeling of being crushed by a weight that isn't really there is something that has affected me throught my school career. This anxiety can be caused from personal relationships to large amounts of school work or not understanding the work. I felt that putting the sculpture in the pose of Atlas from Greek myth was an interesting way to represent this feeling. Atlas is a titan that holds the world on his shoulders in the myths. The idea to put the scuplture in that pose was connected to the idea of worrying about everything so much, that it feels like an incredibly large weight is being placed on your shoulders. I was also interested in making the project interactive, where viewers could write somthing that was making them anxious or causing them stress and place it into a bowl of others.

Materials: Wire, Tin Foil, Clay, Wood base

Little Lamb

- Doga Yildiz