Ryck Rudd
Leavers' Book

"High school is a melting pot of identities and stereotypes; the perfect Petri-dish to study someone's personal character. At school, our self-awareness grows painfully clear during puberty and we feel terribly anxious and excitable, isolated even while surrounded by others like us. Each of us copes in different ways to get through it. The thick impasto, vivid colour, and broad brush strokes together give texture and movement to the pimple-faced fidgety teenagers of my imaginary world.

While these portraits grew more defined, it felt natural for me to group them into cliques to further develop their personalities. When installed together, each portrait reacts against the next and I can feel a narrative unfolding. It adds another layer of character; much more exciting than the stale, rudimentary yearbook arrangement."

                                                - Ryck Rudd