Holroyd High School – This Is Me
Holroyd High School is located in Greystanes, western Sydney, on the traditional land of the Darug people.
Holroyd High School students embarked on a creative journey to design self-portraits that reflect their unique identities.
They began this task by completing simple drawings in pencil and then planning their portraits before embarking on the larger canvas. They explored facial features, clothing and what makes them unique in these drawings.
To begin the paintings, students first painted the canvas one solid colour using chalk paint. They then transferred their smaller pencil drawings onto canvas with chalk, which made it easy to rub away any mistakes. Students brainstormed and were encouraged to explore and integrate objects and backgrounds that hold personal significance into their paintings.
They thoughtfully selected colours, textures and shapes to symbolise their individuality. Some students opted for collage techniques, incorporating real-life materials into their artworks (such as LEGO), while others chose to use drawing and painting mediums to convey their personal stories.
The unit emphasised a deep connection between the elements of art and self-expression, allowing students to produce expressive, mixed-media self-portraits that represent who they are and what matters most to them.
What did the teachers and students have to say?
- ‘We will not hide away as we are strong, creative, proud and accepting of our diversity.’ – Kerrie Kimes (teacher)
- ‘We studied the lyrics to this song whilst creating this work.’ – Kerrie Kimes (teacher)
‘Look out ‘cause here I come, and I'm marching on to the beat I drum, I'm not scared to be seen, I make no apologies, this is me.’ – This Is Me by Keala Settle - ‘Art makes me feel joy. I feel joy. Do you feel joy?’ – Zahra (student)
- ‘This is a portrait of me singing my song Barbie World.’ – Zahra (student)
- ‘Yes, I love art. I feel awesome.’ – Luka (student)
- ‘I love my painting. I like my hair. I love art.’ – Mehvish (student)
- ‘I enjoy doing art because you can come up with ideas of your own and learn a lot about colour and paint. The self-portrait of me was first generated using AI; then, I turned it into a painting. Then, I collaged the background to make it look like a city alleyway. I love music and so this portrait is about me playing my guitar. I love how relaxing this is. I could paint all day, and I do.’ – Henry L (student)
- ‘Miss Boyd, can you say, “Wow, it's awesome” like you do, and I’ll say, “Good job, Luka.”’ – Luka (student)
- ‘This is me as a superhero.’ – Keira (student)
- ‘I love painting my portrait – it makes me laugh and happy.’ – Yassir (student)
- ‘I am so proud. This is Melissa. It is very cute.’ – Melissa (student)
Participating students
Congratulations to the following students from Years 8 to 12 at Holroyd High School for their wonderful submissions:
Henry, Keira, Luka, Mehvish, Melissa, Yassir and Zahra.
- Third-party content attributions
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- All student artworks and images courtesy of the respective schools, student artworks © the student artists, 2023, reproduced and communicated with permission.
- Congratulations banner, created using Canva, 2021.
