On a sunny day in the courtyard, students filtered in and out of the Eastern Star Gallery to view handmade and curated ceramic pieces created by three seniors.
Seniors Sophia Bromwich, Shayaan Gandhi and Madison Mims came together to create their senior show gallery titled “Age and Decay,” which opened April 9 during lunch and closed April 11. The exhibit was centered around nostalgia and childhood. Bromwich said they came up with the theme by combining common visible concepts in their artwork.
“Shayaan, Madison and I all had very different themes, but this was the one way we could connect them with the theme of time. The passage of time, evolution and growth, decay and more,” Bromwich said. “A lot of my pieces are about nature, and Shayaan’s are more whimsical, and Madison’s have a lot to do with childhood and nostalgia. They are all different parts of the timeline, so that is how we connected them with ‘Age and Decay.”
Bromwich said she is grateful for Archer’s art curriculum because it allowed her to showcase her individuality and artistic expression. Art at Archer has empowered her to be her authentic self creatively, which she said she really appreciates.
“I think Archer is all about creative freedom when it comes to art,” Bromwich said. “There is a lot of individuality you get to use through the art curriculum, and being able to have a whole gallery show to showcase that your senior year is just a really great opportunity.”
Mims said working with other students was somewhat challenging because they were not always in the same room, but it was also rewarding.
“It’s difficult because we’re in different classes. I have ceramics with Shayaan, so we have expectations of each other when it comes to the gallery, but not as much with Sophia,” Mims said. “But I think with collaborative projects, you have to think about what everyone wants. That way it is much more successful.”
When asked about the preparation process for the gallery, Gandhi said she enjoyed seeing the culmination of her art through her time at Archer.
“The pieces in there are from 10th grade on. And then there’s all the ceramic work that I’ve done this year, as well,” Gandhi said. “Preparing for the gallery has been really fun. We spent the week before the show prepping, planning out where we’re going to put things and picking out all the pedestals. It was cool to work with other seniors.”
The theme of “Age and Decay” hits close to home for the three artists because they are in their final year of high school. Mims said she hoped she could express what childhood meant to her through the gallery and how all people should hold on to the fleeting moments that come with it.
“Through my work, I wanted to convey childhood, even though my pieces are all relatively simple,” Mims said. “I think there is a through line of childhood being this sacred sort of thing, like something that shouldn’t be as fleeting as we often perceive it to be. I think it is really important to examine that.”
