When Lexi Nojin set about creating her HSC major artwork last year at Terrigal High School, she wanted to reflect her mixed heritage.
Her piece – One quarter, three quarters, whole – is one of 43 artworks selected statewide for the ARTEXPRESS 2022 exhibition which opened at the Art Gallery of NSW on February 3.
Nojin, 18, said her drawings are about identity and place.
“This piece was inspired by my heritage which is three quarters Russian and a quarter Dutch, shaped by growing up in Australia,” she said.
“It is a drawing in pen and took me around 400 hours in total to complete.
“I started with a few outlines and then let the creative process take over.
“I didn’t have much of a plan and there is always something you wished you’d done better but I was ultimately pleased with it.”
Nojin, who recently moved to Berkeley Vale from Terrigal, will study finance at Macquarie University this year.
“I really like art as a hobby but I love maths,” she said.
Nojin said her family was “very excited” by her ARTEXPRESS selection and “couldn’t wait” to see the exhibition.
The 43 bodies of work on show were selected from 8,440 student works submitted for the 2021 HSC.
In its 39th edition, a spokesperson said this year’s students have directly addressed the impact of the global pandemic on their lives, exploring ideas of the interior self and resilience, emergence and optimism, the environment and still life interiors.
Terry Collins