Photos from TQ Self/Portrait Movie Poster Drawing Workshop @ Casula Powerhouse

Photos from my Self/portrait fictional movie poster workshop for International Women’s Day, @ Casula Powerhouse, in the west of Sydney. 

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Photo 1: Shevonne, Cherie and Supichay working on their pics (thanks for letting me take your photo and put it up here!)

[image description: three high school students sit at a desk, two across from the other, all with expressions of concentration, drawing pictures with felt-tip markers that are also scattered across table. The youth facing us on left wears a green hoodie, is light brown skinned with dark hair tied back with a part, her picture says ‘INDEPENDANCE in red writing. The youth in middle wears a white blouse, is colouring in yellow next to her drawing of a face, she has paler skin and brown hair covers part of her face. The third youth, sitting opposite the other two, has dark hair and light brown skin, we can’t see her face. Her picture is of a long haired person carrying a handbag]

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Photo 2: Shevonne with her movie poster “INDEPENDANCE” (a great spelling mistake, I think)

[image description: Same youth from previous pic who was sitting on left. She has a very slight, shy smile looking towards the piece of paper she holds featuring a marker drawing where a long haired person drawn in black and white stands on top of a brown building. The person is chopping off the head of a dragon with the sword in their right hand. At the bottom, over the building is the word “INDEPENDANCE” in drippy red writing like blood]

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Photo 3: A movie poster portrait drawing ‘BE witched’. I didnt write down this person’s name but she said I could put the picture up here! 

[image description: A pencil and felt-tip marker drawing on a table with marks of paint flecked on it. The drawing says “BE” and then under that “Witched” in scratchy black font, a green eyed feminine face (eyes/nose/mouth) is in centre of page, staring eerily. There are three thought bubbles around the face, inside each a masculine person is doing a domestic chore such as hanging clothes and washing dishes. Underneath the text reads “Using her powers to control MEN”]

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Photo 4: Supichay with her drawing “The Worth Escape” about a person’s decision to try to get a job instead of staying in school. 

[image description: A light brown-skinned youth with black hair and black rimmed glasses wearing a white blouse  smiles while holding up her drawing. At top of drawing on left are some school building in black and white, on top right corner are some school text books, falling. Below that a skirt in dark blue falls. A person with neon yellow hair and a long plait one side and the other side brown into a tip at shoulder, covering the face, wears a red tank top and brown pants, She is shedding off a school uniform and carries a brown satchel bag. Under this the words “THE WORTH ESCAPE” are written in black and white movie poster font, slanted into each other]

Thanks to all the students who attended the workshop, as well as the artists’ talks and panel at Casula Powerhouse. I loved running a workshop with a large proportion of shy brown kids because I used to be one of them. I might have cried in front of some of the art if I wasn’t so professional(!). I must remember to stress (more) how sizest the old movie posters I show as reference points are. I encouraged them to draw themselves, and though many of them seemed to represent themselves as manga style characters, there was a heap of originality and enthusiasm amongst the shyness.