Phillips is proud to partner with The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) this December to present the second edition of the The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize London. Established in 2012 in Hong Kong, The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) Students Prize is an annual award designed to celebrate the importance of art in the education system and recognise the quality of artworks produced by secondary school students citywide and this year The London Student Prize is generously supported by Praemium. As official venue partner, Phillips will host the 20 shortlisted artworks in a Finalists Exhibition at Phillips London headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square, where it will run alongside New Now from 2-9 December 2021. In advance of the exhibition opening on 2 December, Phillips spoke to the 20 finalists about their work, what inspired it and how it was made.
Georgios Pavlibeyi, Visions of Tomorrow.
Georgios Pavlibeyi, 18, Monoux College
An architectural sculpture inspired by the work of Bodys Isek Kingelez. Part of a body of work by Georgios Pavlibeyi exploring fantasy.
Archibald McCombie, Lines of Experience.
Archibald McCombie, 15, Dulwich College
A drawing based on a photograph of an elderly woman from Nepal. My main focus was to bring out as much detail in the skin as possible to best showcase the age of the individual. This was also my first time doing photorealism.
Phoebe Simeonides, Girl, unfinished.
Phoebe Simeonides, 15, Kingsdale Foundation School
This painting is meant to overwhelm the viewer and show them how a delicate young person can be engulfed by themselves and the harsh reality of not quite knowing who they are.
Masud Alao, Diffuse.
Masud Alao, 16, Dulwich College
Photography of the different forms found from ink.
Hanna Aicha Belalia, Do not go gently.
Hanna Aicha Belalia, 16, Trinity Church of England School, Lewisham
This painting was inspired by the artist Jusepe de Ribera and his painting of the penitent Saint Peter. The artist used oil paints to replicate the style of the Old Masters. Using techniques like under painting and impasto. The artist wanted used lighting effects to achieve an impression of depth.
Fasihah Haseeb, Carving Memories.
Fasihah Haseeb, 17, Oaklands Secondary School
As we meander through our lives we sometimes forget the impressions we leave on the world. This photograph explores the intertwined impressions we all create without knowing. A wake of subconscious choices for others to pass through, maybe changing their world forever.
Emilio Nunzi, Mind's Eye.
Emilio Nunzi, 17, Dulwich College
My final piece from my recent project focusing on the aims of the Surrealist movement. With this particular painting I was investigating the techniques of Max Ernst – removing conscious intention from art, to liberate it from the brushstroke. After collages of created spaces from my memory, thinking about the idea of the mental landscape, I decided to merge the ideas together to take it forward.
Viviana Gelasia Hoare, Lady of Fruit.
Viviana Gelasia Hoare, 18, Chestnut Grove Academy
Lady of Fruit is an ode to the traditional appreciation of organic materials, in this case fruit, and also a bittersweet acknowledgement of their waning symbolism in this increasingly globalized era, where they can be acquired without difficulty or expense. It combines the 17th century and the 21st, the latter represented through the seated lady who surveys the rotting still life before her with a doleful gaze.
Monty Hunt, Rainbow.
Monty Hunt, 17, The West London Free School
In response to Liam Wong, Monty had been investigating the effects of light pollution in his neighborhood and turned a seemingly mundane image into an electric cyberpunk vision also inspired by Blade Runner.
John Abboodass, City Lines.
John Abboodass, 16, Dulwich College
The medium used in this artwork is acrylic on wood and the theme of my work was to distil the natural essence of city life and buildings to simplistic art forms. I wanted to capture the spirit of the city and express them onto a wooden canvas. The painting is primarily inspired by the works of Piet Mondrian and his notion of simplifying natural elements such as trees into pure forms such as squares and other shapes.
Luisa Valeriani, Ghost.
Luisa Valeriani, 17, The West London Free School
Inspired by the work of Francesca Woodman, Luisa has made a disturbing and exhilarating digital work which also has a strong performative aspect.
Alicia Allan Padilla, Lockdown Dreams.
Alicia Allan Padilla, 14, Canada Blanch, Spanish School London
This past year was a difficult one, but it was also the year when I began to properly explore art. These two pieces were created from the culmination of dreams, experiences, songs, ideas, et cetera, that accompanied me in this time, as well as the exploration of various new mediums and techniques. Taking elements of all these things, I incorporated them into the composition, using quite a vibrant color palette as well as using different mediums, such as gouache, watercolor, and gold to create the final piece.
Nephele Jepras, Hands. Face. Space: Fragmented memory, love and loss.
Nephele Jepras, 16, Kingsdale Foundation School
A series of personal paintings exploring the role the pandemic has played in everybody's lives and to represent fragmentation as memory loss, breaking apart a life, a love. They were based on the artist's deceased grandfather and his time-weathered hands and elegant fingers; his old and wise face, ravaged with age and most startlingly, memory fragmenting and fading into dementia, hollowing him out. Finally, the space he left behind, most obvious and painful, beside her grandmother on the bed they shared, it's unforgiving pink bedspread shaping the space like a lost landscape.
Elsa LaFollette, Underground.
Elsa LaFollette, 17, Southbank International
This photo is a part of a series of double film photographs I have taken on the tube and in stations. What I particularly love about this image is how without knowing how the images would frame, I was still able to frame the man on both the escalators and the train. With this photo, I wanted to convey the feeling of being trapped in routine, just as the man is encased in the train.
Margaux Murray, Unseen Toll.
Margaux Murray, 17, Kew House School
Inspired by Olafur Eliasson's Speed of Your Attention made up of perfect lenses in a reflection of an occurrence in nature, I disrupted the perfection of his environmental activism work to reflect the stark reality of natures present and future by contaminating the lenses. The use of lens is in reference to the selective attention of society looking through the glazed ‘lens’ to view the destruction of our world, even though we are a part of it inherently dooming our personal future. Climate activist work usually displays sights of outstanding natural beauty to promote what we should be trying to save. I believe this mode of delivery ineffective as the art is too pretty to make a statement, and should be shifted to something more negative on what is happening now and what will happen. Psychologically, the human brain has a higher chance of processing information into the long-term memory if it is negative, which is perfect for the now problem of climate. Resonating darker images with the audience hopefully will inspire more action and change.
India Dale, In the Bath (after Marat).
India Dale, 17, The West London Free School
India studies History of Art and Art and she wanted to create an engaging self-portrait with reference to an iconic artwork.
Dellilah Jamal, Utamaduni.
Dellilah Jamal, 17, St Paul's Way Trust School
Utamaduni translates to the word “culture” in my mother tongue, Swahili. This painting captures the essence of what it truly means to be Tanzanian. My mother, in a traditional fabric known as kitenge, is stood in front of a vibrant background displaying the colors of the Tanzanian national flag (blue, green, yellow and black). As a second-generation citizen it can be easy to lose touch with your heritage, so reminding yourself of your motherland is essential in knowing who you are as an individual.
Jasmine Lambert, A Pause in Fertility.
Jasmine Lambert, 17, Kew House School
Photograph of a Modroc body cast and pomegranates. The inspiration for this piece came from the fusion of questions and challenges I faced around my health with Frida Kahlo’s work, specifically her plaster corsets. With it I wanted to inspire reflection on how female fertility is viewed within our society.
Selina Castillo-Velez, Inside Out.
Selina Castillo-Velez, 17, The West London Free School
Selina had taken photos of a figure inside surrounded by plants. She had been considering how to subvert expectations of what could be in a convention still life and portraiture project. The striking and surreal composition was also inspired by Paula Rego and Gregory Crewdson.
Ella Mash, In Bed (after Paula Rego)
Ella Mash, 17, The West London Free School
Ella had been exploring drapery and was also inspired by the compositions of Paula Rego. She then made a bold etching from a dramatic photoshoot.
Discover More from 20th Century & Contemporary Art >
Recommended Reading