Alleyn’s Year 7 artists have been named winners of The Royal Society of Biology’s BioArtAttack Competition in the Group Category for their piece, Clay Corals.
The 45 pupils were inspired to create the dramatic, white clay forms after watching Netflix film, Chasing Coral, which exposes the disappearance of coral reefs.
The pupils learned to make clay forms and fired and glazed them in white. It was intended to visibly show what a bleached coral reef might look like on display in the school, using projected colours to represent the life before the death of the coral.
Alleyn’s Art teacher, Joanne Platten, who is passionate about climate change and cross curricular learning, said:
“Art is a great tool for activism and raising awareness of all sorts of issues and I'm so pleased this project has had some recognition.
“The pupils really enjoyed the clay-work and many were unaware of the severity of this problem and why we need our coral reefs'. Climate change is something I am working hard at integrating into my schemes and cross curricular learning is a personal passion of mine.”
Reflecting on their efforts for the project, Year 7 pupil, Trisha, said:
“I really enjoyed the coral project because it allowed me to delve into the world of sculpture, a fairly new skill for me, allowing me to get to grips with the corals’ intricacy and beauty.
“Also, this piece of corals was very heartfelt because we made sure the corals were white, instead of multi-coloured to represent the pollutants and heat in the sea that is destroying and bleaching our beautiful corals.”
More than 350 high quality and exciting art pieces were entered into this year's BioArtAttack competition, including collages, sculptures and knitted objects covering a wide range of subjects within the biosciences. A judging panel of RSB staff selected a winner and runner up for each category.
Junior School Open Day
The next Alleyn's Junior School Open Event is from 1.30pm to 3pm on Wednesday 22 May 2024. There will be a Head's Talk at 1.40pm after which you will be offered a tour of the school with a pupil. There is no need to book a place at this Open Event - everyone is welcome.
Last updated on 20 05 24 at 09:12
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