Super 8 Cultural Festival - Art Department
The Super 8 Cultural Festival was held earlier this year and was hosted by Gisborne Boy’s High School.
In the Junior Visual Art section, Year 10 Digital Art student Reagan O’Hara placed second with his digital identity portrait.
Students were asked to reflect on aspects their identities and then produce a self-portrait and short GIF animation. The multiple frames within this work are taken from the animated sequence. It was suggested that students consider the work of Sam Mitchell as an artist model, the role of traditional Moko as statements of cultural identity, and the concept of the Consumer Self, where products are associated with meanings and identity positions that buyers consume and inhabit.
Reagan’s response to this brief was to explore the role of mass media in the formation of his national identity, interest in cars and role as a musician. It presents an open narrative and positions Reagan as both a consumer and product of the media with which he engages.
