Trigg teenager inherits people’s choice prize in Year 12 Perspectives art exhibition

A TRIGG teenager’s pair of portraits won the people’s choice award in the Art Gallery of WA’s Year 12 Perspectives exhibition.

St Mary’s Anglican Girls School graduate Michaela Savage said inspiration for her acrylic painting Inheritance came from community service trips to remote communities in Central Australia and Laos.

“While travelling… I experienced undeniably similar stories told by these two different people,” she said.

“Both told of dangerous legacies left by foreign powers with which the local communities must then cope alone.

“In Australia, this was the case with the British who tested nuclear bombs at Maralinga (South Australia) and in Laos, the dumping of unexploded cluster bombs by the US during the Vietnam War.”

AGWA artist educator Lilly Blue said the annual exhibition gave young artists a platform.

“Michaela Savage in her work Inheritance has used her technical skills to address complex issues,” she said.

“Visual stories have the capacity to disrupt, empower, humanize and heal, and Michaela has added her voice to the many contemporary artists using their practice to address social issues and advocate for change.”

Michaela received a $250 Gallery Shop voucher as part of the award and her Karrinyup school will receive an art workshop and class tour of the ‘Culture Juice: Beyond Bling’ exhibition.

The Year 12 Perspectives exhibition features 55 works from students across WA and will close on July 16.