UNIT THREE
VISUAL RESPONSE TO PLACE
TASK:
To present, in visual form - one or more facets of life on the Gold Coast inspired by the immersive excursion to Surfers Paradise.
Students were asked to consider the people, the place, the environment.
The result is an individualised, reflective response, with a depth of meaning, using the language of art.
MEDIA:
Select your media in response to the concept and your focus.
You negotiate the media - materials, techniques, technologies and processes that could include 2D media, mixed media, found media, 3D media, electronic, time based or new media.
LEWIS EDWARDS
Surfers fight
Colour pencil on paper
2022
42 x 29
The art work takes place of one of the most high visited suburbs on Gold Coast. This means there are a lot of tourist attractions meaning lots of things to work about. I saw the big Surfers Paradise sign and thought that would look cool as a drawing on a piece of paper. I used some things from back home such as the kangaroo and added this and well as the colours for the well known 'Princess' who lives in Surfers. There are a wide rang of colours such as the rainbow for Princess. The red and yellow represents the surf live saving colours with gives it a beach theme.
RILEY DUNLOP
’Under the Dancefloor’
Single media – Graphite & Coloured Pencils
297 x 420mm
This artwork was produced by me to represent what really happens in Surfers Paradise on a day-to-day basis. This was created to show the substance and alcohol abuse that is in Surfers Paradise and how this wrecks many people’s lives. Many people will ruin their future with one night out by trying something once and not being able to get off it. This artwork is to show what people are consuming on a nightly basis and up the top is to show the people what life is really like with a colourful representation. I also added the stream of dripping substance to show what people have lost such as family, and relationships as well as their life. I kept the bottle and everything below the surface of the bottle the grey graphite colour to try and display sadness and to help the colour up the top of the building pop and make the buildings shine a lot brighter than below. But then you look at the buildings first then move your eyes down below to so what is happening below the bottle to see all the drugs and many other substances stuck down below.
ALEX DAO
The pop of colour in Surfers Paradise
Wooden canvas, wire mesh, acrylic paints, paper mâché
2022
41cm x 26cm x 37cm
While many people see Surfers Paradise as a heaven on earth, somewhere only fun and exiting always happen. However, that is not the case at all, Surfers Paradise is a beach front, where there is sand, water and buildings. The true meaning of Surfers Paradise is the soul, the energy, the entertainment that is inside of Surfers Paradise.
”the pop of colour in Surfers Paradise” was meant to show the audience that Surfers Paradise is not just a place to go to the beach, not a place to visit, Surfers Paradise is made up of the elements, like night clubs, the street performers and the endless joy that was brought out through the imagery of an octopus, while showing how it represent the core, the missing piece of Surfers Paradise.
JAMIE BERESFORD
Surfers hells and paradises
Acrylic paint, sand and collage cut outs on canvas
30x42cm
The idea is to display both the nightlife and the daylife of Surfers, one side is Surfers hell and one side is Surfers paradise (it is open to interpretation which side is which). The nightlife side displays the blur of busyness and lights at night time on Cavil Avenue. The bright beach is the day life and the main reason people go during the day. The night life can be perceived as hell with drugs and it all being a blur or it could be the opposite, sitting on the beach in 40 degree weather hung over could be the hell.
ANGUS AYRE
The future is yet to come
Photoshop of a collection of old images
2022
12.7cm x 12.7cm per photo
The Gold Coast theme parks are often seen as one of the major attractions of the city, creating a major tourist draw, alongside the beaches and other famous landmarks of the city. Each photo was sourced as close to the theme parks opening date as possible, to set the storyline of the artwork.
The artwork is meant to reflect the seemingly dark future many of them faced, with Dreamworld involved in an accident in 2016 and Magic Mountains closure in 1991. The use of colours bright vibrant and light-hearted additions to the artwork adds a fun twist to the idea of their dark future, used to mask the troubles and continue serving customers. Each image had certain aspects changed, including clothes colours changed, a UFO, and decapitated Matilda.
The work is displayed as photos stuck to a wall.
TOM WILLIAMSON
The beach on Wheels
Painting on wooden skateboard deck
78.5 x 19.5
2022
The Gold Coast is one of those cities with iconic beaches and views. As the Gold Coast is a part time home it has allowed me to experience views from the famous Surfers Paradise looking out towards the ocean. The Surfers Paradise sign is a major tourist location through out the the suburb. The hot sand, waves and surfers of the Gold Coast make it like no other place to experience. Inspired for what Surfers has to offer and other elements the artwork ‘The beach on Wheels’ explores the colors and textures of the beach. The Beach on Wheels features and resembles the hot sand and waves that people get to experience everyday in Surfers.
WILL SLACK-SMITH
Sunday morning surf
2022
21.0 x 29.7cm
The Gold Coast is a wonderful place for tourism to go and see some of the magnificent features of Surfers Paradise. With many people going to visit the surfer's beach, many go out and have a surf. While covid has impacted Surfers Paradise the amount of people surrounding Surfers has decreased and has got gotten a lot more people to try something new like surfing. What's going on behind a vibrantly designed screen that portrays the ideal surfing scene is hidden. The different colors represents the different personalities like the rainbow and the color pink for 'Princess' a locally known identity in Surfers.
TAJ KRASNA
Behind the scenes of Surfers Paradise
Acrylic and markers on mixed media, wood, matchsticks, hot glue.
2022
80cm, 18cm, 55cm
In Surfers Paradise there are a lot of apartments. It is basically a part of the identity and culture of the Gold Coast and that is why I decided to focus on creating block apartments. The skateboard deck also represents the culture of Surfers Paradise because many people skate around. We Australians tend to have many different hobbies.
Can you see the true meaning behind this artwork?
CLAY HINDMARSH
The broken indigenous community
Mixed media –paint on wood with wire boomerang
2022
35x 2.5 x 15cm
The indigenous culture has had a dramatic impact on the Gold Coast - Australia’s leading tourist destination.
'Surface Paradise' has decreased the amount of indigenous culture as it is not the main attraction for tourists. This is how my artwork presents the decreased amount of indigenous culture and artefacts this lands holds.
The wire in the middle of the boomerang presents how 'Surface Paradise' is constricting the indigenous culture. On one side of the boomerang is surface ‘drug’ paradise with paintings of narcotics and on the other side is a set of indigenous symbols. These two worlds don't link which is why the wire is holding the two together - though not linking them.
DREW HINDMARCH
Paradise in One
Felt Tip pen and pencil on paper
2022
21 x 29cm
Surfers Paradise is created by many different things. The tourists of Surfers play a major role in many different business’ throughout Caville Avenue. Personally, I am happy with the outcome over the major work task, although I do believe I could do better. I think if I used more free time out of class put towards my project. My project shows the different aspects of Surfers Paradise in one image it shows different images at different scales for example, the Q1 the tallest building on the gold coast is shown as an image smaller than the Surfers Paradise sign that stands no more than ten meters above the ground.
XAVIER GEORGIOU
Pizzey
Painting on wood with paint pens. screws, skatedeck
2022
All though the last few years have been hard with covid and all sorts of other interruptions the one thing that has stayed solid has been skating and Pizzey as a park and a community I think perfectly embodies that. The art in and around Pizzey Park is some of the varied and ranged art I've ever seen. A lot of people spend most of their days at Pizzey skate park and the people who do will defend it with their lives. I think this perfectly embodies the sense of belonging we should all feel somewhere.
CASSIDY FOOTE
The raw beauty of Surfers Paradise
40x30cm canvas
Acrylic paint on Canvas
My work, through the mentor artist of Christopher Vidal, explores the scenery, character and beauty of the well known city Gold Coast Surfers Paradise. The colourfulness of the ocean that also blends with the sky shows the bright and lively nature of Surfers itself and the weather that comes with it. The perfect beach and green land also is represented with the painting with a gradient that creates a sense of space and time. The Q1 is the tallest building of the city being one of the two focal points and the ocean.
MACALISTER RAMSAY
The board of Surfers Paradise
Wood, nails, glue and acrylic paint on MDF
149 x 44cm
Surfers Paradise is quite a diverse place in that it has something for everyone. During the day Surfers Paradise is famous for its three-kilometre beach of golden sand plus the surf and sun culture but during the night it changes completely and that is what is so diverse about this place. As soon as the sun goes down the whole attitude and feel of the place changes completely.
That is exactly what I tried to incorporate into my piece of artwork. I included the drug, alcohol and smoking culture as well as the clubbing. I tied it in with the surfboard and and other images such as the towel, skateboard and camera. This represents Surfers Paradise’s culture very accurately and if you are all familiar with the area the you will
be able to pick this up very quickly.
STEPHEN EARDLEY
Surfers is rebuilding and reinventing
Watercolour paint on 300gsm watercolour paper
2022
42 x 29cm
The Gold Coast is entering the rebuilding phase post covid
As a premier tourist precinct within Australia the diminished tourist numbers has allowed for some redevelopment to happen on the northern end of Caville Avenue. This faces the main Esplanade and beach area. The infrastructure of Surfers Paradise must always be up to date for the tourist influx, especially the expected Christmas holiday season. When an area is ‘Under Construction’ methods are employed to mask the work. A colourfully designed screen, depicting the ideal Surfers environment, masks what is happening behind it.
Inspired by this and other graphically designed decorative elements and icons of Surfers, this juxtaposed artwork explores the use of colour and blended form. Recently the Pink Flamingo and rainbow culture have made an impact in this space. They feature with the lorikeet pulling the rainbow under the Surfers Paradise sign.
