Stephanie Nguyen, A Thousand Birds For You.

Robert Kennedy - AGNSW: Artexpress 2007

22 February 2007

Does this year's Artexpress exhibition have anything telling to say about youth? Can these artworks be seen as age based art? This selection certainly seems to be more eye-catching than previous years, but most of the works could have been produced by artists much older such is their quality and sharpness.

Artexpress contains a range of environments that are alive and bright - with a few black and shadowy figures, like in the James Conigrave images from St Pius X College, titled All the King's Horses. Though it is subtitled Drawing 5 Pieces there are only four on show, which contains strong drawings of figureheads, wandering lines and images that speak of death and darkness.

Moving around the crowded and sometimes blaring exhibition space you do get a feeling of youth; somewhat due to the majority of punters wearing school uniforms, but mainly for the images. There is much age and skill shown in the student artworks, some of which could have been put together by a Whiteley or a Klippel.

What is most affecting in this year's selection is the diversity of the works. Artworks ranging from the outstanding paper folded sculpture A thousand birds for you by Stephanie Nguyen, from Bankstown Girls High, to the quite moving I take Photographs and do small adventures by Jarrod Harrison at St Patrick's College, Sutherland. This is a grouping of photographs, drawings, stencilling, Kodachrome slides and a cute pop music styled video – which was drawing everyone in; it's of the artist assembling his collage.

The six videos running one after another in the final room, from six different students were all quite short, well put together and sensitive. The first time I viewed these videos there was no accompanying soundtracks, the next day there was; it made them all much more appealing. The claymation video of Rupert Robinson Trengove, from Mosman High, titled Late Night stood out from the rest.

I was particularly drawn to a sculpture piece, Birds of a Feather, but not sure if it should be called a sculpture, as it was either a hand or bandsaw cut construction from wood. It moved me the most of all works on show, due to its originality and the thought provoking ideas it contained. Produced by Phillipa Cosgrove of Bishop Druitt College, it was bare and stark and dare I say a beginner's piece but the format offers so much more as I hope the artist does in years to come.

I thought how inventive this piece was; considering the only woodworking I got to do at school was either manufacturing a bat or some simple unartistic structure. This work really stood out from the rest of the exhibition; it's shaped like a tree, representing a family tree, but it also represents the enclosed space of the family, an intriguing work.

The exhibition shows a balanced selection of artworks that represent a varied grouping of media, styles and ideas. With a good split of direct youth orientated images and constructions and that of images and ideas that could be linked to artists of many more years experience than school age artists.

While few images or representations stood out with anything overtly political to say – which is interesting – there are references and statements about nature and pop culture, but they are fairly subtle. Except for Madeleine Plocki from Sydney Secondary College. Her three sculpture pieces titled A Political Circus, present a neatly and comically crafted view of the current political landscape in Australia, the thin wire construction giving reference to the "manipulation and slight of hand" that is politics.

Maybe the winner of this year's Integral Energy (major prize) Behishta Joya and her painting Forever Dirt from Erskine Park High is political in nature. While being well crafted and poignant, there is something going on in this work that suggests a visual reference to the Three Studies from the Tremeraire by Cy Twombly, also in the AGNSW. Twombly's work, at least this one, is not one that impresses. A painting that uses quite similar elements as another falls short of being complete and original.

The diversity and eye-catching qualities of Artexpress 2007 are pulling in large crowds, and so they should. Next to the Archibald – coming very soon – this is getting to be a major winner for the AGNSW, and one of its better and most visited annual exhibitions.

Artexpress has been happening for 24 years now, and I'll be here for the next and I also hope for the 50th exhibition. What will we be seeing then? More great works like these I hope.

- Robert Kennedy