Step 1: A fascinating sketch of various arms, intertwined together. Then a girl with multiple eyes, an eerie but captivating black and white painting. Step 8: Another painting of a girl, this time with beautiful flowers blossoming out of the crystal teardrops on her face. Next to it, a big red piece that compels people to take another look; With paintings of oranges, apple cider, and a small piece of paper under it that helps others understand the deeper meaning. Seniors Marina Khoury and Yiyi Tu kicked off the start to this year’s senior art exhibitions on September 13th. With crowds of excited students gathered in front of the library and platters of delicious cookies, it was a lively environment in which to introduce the Bishop’s community to the artists’ innovative artwork. Both extremely talented artists, the exhibition had a variety of paintings that captivated the attention from students of all ages.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to showcase my work alongside Yiyi’s,” Marina said. She explained how after working through the full progression of Studio Art classes at Bishops and completing an independent study in art history and experimentation last year, she wanted to display some of her work. Yiyi noted, “It’s such a long tradition; I remember last year a lot of my friends that were seniors did it, and it was a moment for them to showcase their art and also show a part of themselves.” She added, “their art was very cool and the exhibitions were wholesome”, and so she really wanted to share her art with the Bishops community too.
MARINA
Many of Marina’s striking and unique pieces are centered around repetition and the human form. She grew up surrounded by art, as her mother and grandmother are artists, but she explained how she started enjoying the process in Studio Art at Bishops. When talking about her artistic journey, she said, “I started out with somewhat tame graphite still-lives,” she said. “From there, I continued to work at semi-realistic drawing and started branching out with media as a sophomore.”
Marina loves the push and pull of art; she said, “The subject matter may, of course, be pushed far beyond the realm of reality, but each mark on the page can also be modified. I get to amplify, minimize, and alter at will—a deeply rewarding process.” In her artist statement, she wrote, “Throughout my process, I prioritize what I find most interesting and fun to create. I hope that even if you’ve tried and failed at some projects, you make something new — because while you might not be the same type of artist as someone else, art can be for everyone.”
YIYI
