One of our Upper Sixth students has had his final piece selected for the Royal Academy Young Artist’s Summer Show 2022 as part of their exhibition. Now in its fourth year, the Young Artists Summer Show is open to all students aged 14-19 and is judged by a panel of passionate artists and art professionals. The selected pieces are included in their online exhibition and on-site at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Fergus Kinder (Upper Sixth Art student) submitted his piece named ‘The Corsican Ogre’ and describes it as "the conclusion of an investigation into Napoleon and his reputation. Not only is Napoleon viewed in a variety of ways in the modern-day, but also during his lifetime. The nicknames given to him offer insight into this: Little Boney, Il Mostro, and Caporal La Violette to name a few. I decided to focus on one: The Corsican Ogre. Notably, Napoleon also weaponised his image to inspire his troops, or to cause fear. The concept of a puppet represents not the actual man, but the image of The Corsican Ogre, a twisted ruthless bogeyman. The puppeteer would be Napoleon himself. The marionette design is inspired by traditional Czech wood-carved puppets, such as those by the artist Krčál. The face design was developed from a series of caricature pieces, which were influenced by Tony Scherman's Napoleon series."
We are so proud of Fergus and this achievement; the talent, insight and passion shown by Fergus throughout his time with us is represented in all of his work and especially in this piece. It is such an honour for his talent to be recognised by one of the largest open-submission art exhibitions in the world. The Royal Academy of Arts will be releasing its online exhibition on 19th July and selected artworks will be on display at the Royal Academy from 19th July – 14th August. We recommend visiting this exhibition in person as it really gives you the chance to enjoy and revel in the talent of this generation, why not pop over and see Fergus’s piece while you are there?
Click here to see the 2022 online Young Artist’s Summer Show.