Identical HSC marks for twins with passion for art

Madeleine and Olivia King with their art work

St Columba’s High School, Springwood students, and twins, Madeleine and Olivia King both received a mark of 98 in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) for Visual Arts and were both selected to exhibit their major works in ArtExpress. Madeleine was also placed 8th in the state in Visual Arts, Olivia was placed 2nd in the state for History Extension and both girls were placed on the All-Round Achiever’s List.

Olivia and Madeleine say they have a strong passion for art and both major works for Visual Arts are subjects that are close to their hearts.

Olivia has created a children’s book for her major work. The book, Memories, Tea and Grandpa's Kites is based around the relationship she never had with her maternal grandfather who died when Olivia’s mother was only 12 years old.

‘I felt the book would resonate with people because Alzheimer’s is so prevalent in our society and it affects so many people,’ said Olivia. ‘I thought it was an interesting paradox. My art work draws on the parallel between the lack of memory I have for my grandfather and the lack of memory many Alzheimer’s sufferers have of their grandchildren.’

Madeleine’s artwork, Six Months of Green Tea and Gum Leaves was inspired by her exchange trip to Japan when she was 16 years old. The artwork consists of six panels – two panels represent each season she was in Japan. Madeleine used a combination of Australian and Japanese elements and materials to convey her emotions and experiences.

One panel depicts a time when she was homesick and lonely in autumn so the colours used were monotone and morose as opposed to the bright colours used in the final panel that represents her coming home.

The twins said they found it beneficial to have each other as support during the while studying for the HSC.

‘We study a lot of the same subjects so if one of us missed something in class, there was always someone there to help you catch up and get you back up to speed,’ said Olivia.

‘We are also quite competitive so we pushed each other harder,’ said Madeleine. ‘It was great to be able to sit down before the exams and talk to someone else about it all – it helped solidify the information in our minds.’

The twins are also both passionate writers and Olivia was a finalist in the Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year competition earlier this year. She would now like to go on to study Visual Communications (International Studies) at University of Technology Sydney where she can combine her passion for writing and art.

Even though Madeleine is still not sure exactly which pathway she would like to follow, she is interested in studying Media and Communications at Sydney University.

‘It’s really hard to support yourself as an artist and I would never want art to become an obligation for me,’ said Madeleine. ‘Art will always be a personal passion and hobby for me, however professionally I would like to follow my passion for writing.’

Olivia and Madeleine were selected for ArtExpress along with 14 other students from Catholic schools in the Parramatta Diocese, including fellow student, Sarah Standen.

Delma Horan, principal of St Columba’s High School, Springwood said all three students’ hard work would provide inspiration for younger students.

‘Sarah, Madeleine and Olivia are extremely gifted Visual Arts students and their artworks are the result of this talent and hard work,’ said Delma. ‘They provide inspiration for all those students studying visual arts at St Columba's.’

The major works of seven students from Caroline Chisholm College, Glenmore Park; two students from St Patrick’s Marist College, Dundas; one student from Cerdon College, Merrylands; and one student from Marian Catholic College, Kenthurst were selected for the exhibition.

Coincidentally, the twins’ mother, Karen King is the creative arts coordinator at Caroline Chisholm.

Karen said while she felt her girls were exposed to art while growing up, they were fiercely independent in the creation of their HSC works.

‘They would ask the occasional question about a certain aspect of their work, but most of the time they would say. ‘thanks mum, now go away!’,’ said Karen.

‘It was really their teachers at St Columba’s who inspired them and worked alongside them to help them achieve what they did,’ she said.

Olivia and Madeleine said their mother never tried to influence their artistic interest but it was through her passion that they discovered theirs.

‘She never forced us to do it, but we would see her doing things and want to be able to do it ourselves,’ said Madeleine.

‘Her wisdom would help us through frustrating moments,’ she said. ‘When I wanted to scrunch up the piece of paper and throw it in the bin, Mum would say, ‘It’s not about a right or wrong way of doing something; draw it the way you want to express it.’

‘I think we are all equally passionate about art,’ said Olivia. ‘It is everywhere in our house, and it is almost a comfort during stressful times like the HSC.’

Karen was extremely proud of her daughters, as well as the seven students selected for ArtExpress from Caroline Chisholm.

Eight students were preselected and seven was selected for the final exhibition which is the largest cohort to date from the school.

‘We have a strong tradition of ceramics at the school and five of the seven students completed ceramics works for their HSC,’ said Karen. ‘The girls worked extremely hard and I think the students have come to expect a standard of excellence in their work and really challenged themselves to work to that standard.’

ArtExpress is an annual exhibition of artworks created by students from government and non-government schools for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) Examination in Visual Arts. The works demonstrate exceptional quality across a broad range of subject matter, approaches, styles and media such as painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, digital animation.

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