Zachary Baden Reeve
St Marys Senior High School
THE SILENT CRY OF THE EDUCATED DEAD
Drawing
ballpoint pen on paper
When we reach the end of our lives, what is it that we leave behind that shows we were really once here? When we are gone, were all the years poured into our education really worth it? The Silent Cry of the Educated Dead represents the endless cycle of productivity over individuality, created as a result of the institutionalised education system. Is the value of a human life the sum of their achievements, or have we missed something crucial?
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Shaun Tan, The lost thing; Chris Riddell; Takashi Murakami.
Marker's Commentary
The Silent Cry of the Educated Dead is a dynamic graphic representation of the student’s reflection on societal systems verses the autonomy of creativity. A confident and illustrative use of ball point pen on paper is used through hatching and cross hatching to create tonal contrast. The balanced composition is created through the use of positive and negative space, supported by the central one-point perspective. Conceptually, the grotesque figures with highly evocative and expressive faces depict a sense of yearning to enter or reach and achieve life’s possibilities. A multitude of illustrative distorted faces are reminiscent of the drawings and etchings of Albrecht Durer and Francisco de Goya, using mark making to create delicate and detailed imagery.