This half term Year 6 have been creating a very exciting art project, themed around Exploring Identity.
Throughout this unit of work, the children have been discovering how artists use their own experiences, heritage, culture and personal stories as inspiration for their artwork. We began by studying a range of contemporary artists who explore identity in powerful and creative ways, each using very different styles and techniques.
We looked at the work of Yinka Shonibare, who explores themes of cultural identity, history and globalisation through bold patterns, textiles and carefully staged compositions.
We also explored the richly layered works of Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Her artwork inspired us to think about how different aspects of our lives — family, memories, background and environment — can exist together within one image. The children noticed how she uses collage, transfer techniques and layered imagery to tell complex personal stories.
Using their sketchbooks throughout the process, the children generated ideas, experimented with materials and techniques and recorded their reflections.
For their final outcome, pupils created a layered self-portrait inspired by the work of Mike Barrett. They combined drawing and collage work to build constructed portraits full of personal symbolism. By layering images, colours, patterns and meaningful objects, they created thoughtful artworks that represent different aspects of their identity: their interests, backgrounds, dreams and personalities.
Take a look at the images below showing the different stages of our projects. Make sure to also look at our Group Conversation to see some of our final pieces.
