G I V E N
Student Art Prize 2024/25
GIVEN:
Acknowledged as a supposition: Meaning something is assumed or taken for granted
Granted: Meaning something is accepted or allowed
Naturally disposed toward: Meaning inclined or tending to
In this theme, accepting light for what it is, within the context it exists, allows each piece to stand on its own. Composed of elements from nature, memories, and mystique, "Given Light" connotes a hopeful perspective rooted in resilience. The works explore how light, in its natural form, interacts with uncertainty in familiar spaces and contemplates the complexities of existence. Rather than manipulating or forcing light, these pieces embrace and utilise it, revealing a quiet strength in how light shapes both the artwork and the viewer’s experience.
Chloe Hart
St John’s College
Tangled up in Sunshine (2025)
Oil on canvas
‘For me, light represents memory, growth, and life. Along with everything in between.
In this painting, I explore the soul of a childhood photograph, using paint to capture a moment frozen in time. A simple scene of me and my friends playing the iconic Twister game during a golden summer of the 2000s reflects how the mind chooses to remember those moments. Sprinkles of laughter, cherished friendships, and pure joy weave themselves between the rays of sunshine.
This light is a particular kind. The kind that floods the mind with nostalgic envy, stirring a yearning to return to simpler times, when all that mattered were vanilla-frosted cupcakes, pockets full of stones, and flower-patterned dresses. But light is not just memory; it is also growth. Think of a flower, nurtured by the sun, reaching for the sky. In the same way, we are shaped by the light of our experiences, growing with every moment. This painting reflects that journey; where nostalgia and light intertwine, reminding us that with the passage of time, the glow of our past will forever be a part of us.’
George Davies
Stephenson College
A Red Dawn (2024)
Oil on linen board
‘A Red Dawn depicts a red deer roaring in the dawn light of the Scottish Highlands. The interplay of colours in this scene, and the contrast of the blue and orange hues, accentuates the light. The glowing mist from the deer’s mouth and the flecks of dew on its neck that catch the light, act to further enhance the contrast. The swallows in the foreground add a sense of movement, their colours reflected in the rest of the scene.
My favourite time of day has to be dawn, when golden light illuminates the landscape and brings warmth after a long cold night. As such, this painting captures a moment in time, when the world wakes up and light creeps back into the Highlands for another short winter’s day.
In this sense, light has many connotations of life, warmth and comfort, the feeling of the sun on our face. It’s this that I wanted to capture, as the painting becomes more than just an image but also a feeling, bringing it to life.’
George Davies
Stephenson College
A Red Dawn (2024)
Oil on linen board
‘A Red Dawn depicts a red deer roaring in the dawn light of the Scottish Highlands. The interplay of colours in this scene, and the contrast of the blue and orange hues, accentuates the light. The glowing mist from the deer’s mouth and the flecks of dew on its neck that catch the light, act to further enhance the contrast. The swallows in the foreground add a sense of movement, their colours reflected in the rest of the scene.
My favourite time of day has to be dawn, when golden light illuminates the landscape and brings warmth after a long cold night. As such, this painting captures a moment in time, when the world wakes up and light creeps back into the Highlands for another short winter’s day.
In this sense, light has many connotations of life, warmth and comfort, the feeling of the sun on our face. It’s this that I wanted to capture, as the painting becomes more than just an image but also a feeling, bringing it to life.’
“ We live within this reality we create, and we're quite unaware of how we create the reality.”
- James Turrell
Aretha Stronge
Ustinov College
Glory (2020)
Coloured pencil on paper
Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies without being blinded. Out of the north comes golden splendour and people can hardly look on it. Around God is awesome splendour and majesty far too glorious for man’s eyes. (Job 37: 21-22 Amplified Bible)
‘This triptych captures the divine collision of heaven and earth, child and Father, shame and Glory.
When I consider ‘light’, my personal interpretation is based around the Glory of the Lord and the overwhelming power of His presence. Even the seraphim in heaven cover their faces with their wings, unable to withstand the blinding radiance of His transcendent purity. Day and night, they worship Him for His holiness.
Likewise, we may lift our eyes to the heavens, and grow ever more comfortable in His presence. Once burdened by shame, we are now covered in His Glory. Though we may still shield our eyes, He enables us to behold His majesty, for He has adopted us as His children, even in our fallen state.’
Eila O’Connor
John Snow College
Chasing Shadows (2025)
Digital painting and animation
‘I wanted to incorporate the idea of shadows from light, when you are always chasing the shadow of your former self.
Even though you may feel like you are glowing and are the light, you cannot escape your shadows and may sometimes see yourself as your past self. In the opposite way, when you are at your lowest, you are chasing the best version of yourself, and may feel like you’re simply imitating this. It is a vicious cycle and when you are really at your best, you might feel weighed down by the troubles of your past and mistakes.
I also wanted to show the way light bounces around glass and shapes, reflecting how people can manipulate and change the outward expression of yourself, compared to what is really on the inside.’
Sascha Eaton
South College
Ode to a Summer’s day: A study and sunlight (2025)
Acrylic on canvas
‘In my study of light, I decided to examine natural sunlight from a photo I took of my friend on one of the last days of summer. The reference image is prolific with natural light and presents an interesting dark/light contrast which drew me to use it.
Light has highly hopeful connotations in art. As such, my overall aim was to portray the theme of LIGHT from a hopeful perspective. The title of the painting, Ode to a Summer’s Day, is a dedication to the familiar winter feeling of missing Summer and awaiting warmer days to come.
The title is inspired by Shakespeare's sonnet, ‘Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day,’ which I thought fitting considering the theme of my painting. The regal pose my figure is captured in, emanates a sense a feeling of resilience against the hard winter months, as well as a feeling of peace, hope and tranquillity brought by the coming of summer.’
Sascha Eaton
South College
Ode to a Summer’s day: A study and sunlight (2025)
Acrylic on canvas
'In my study of LIGHT, I decided to examine natural sunlight from a picture I took of my friend on one of the last days of summer. The reference image has lots of natural light and a really interesting dark/light contrast which drew me to use it.
Light has highly hopeful connotations in art. As such, my overall aim was to portray the theme of LIGHT from a hopeful perspective, titles ‘Ode to a Summer’s Day’ as a dedication to the familiar winter feeling of missing Summer and awaiting warmer days to come.
The title is inspired by Shakespeare's sonnet - ‘Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day,’ which I thought fitting considering the theme of my painting. I’m particularly fond of the regal pose my figure is captured in, emanating in this sense a feeling of resilience against the hard winter months as well as a feeling of peace, hope and tranquillity brought by the summer months.'
Alison Jiaxi Wang
University College
Let There Be Light (2024)
Digital artwork
'Let There Be Light reimagines the siren, not as a seductress luring others to ruin but as a solitary merman, trapped in the black abyss of the deep sea. Bound by chains in the oppressive depths, his plight mirrors the spiritual bondage described in Romans 7:24: “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” At the heart of the artwork is light—a fragile, refracted force breaking through the surface above, casting iridescent patterns on the siren’s form. Like the prisoners in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the siren yearns for salvation and enlightenment, his gaze fixed on the audience, but he remains bound by the weight of his chains. This light becomes a metaphor for hope, redemption, and divine grace, echoing Genesis 1:3: “Let there be light.” The interplay of light and shadow mirrors the siren’s internal conflict, his yearning to escape black sea and rise toward salvation, even in the price of life. Psalm 18:28 resonates in this struggle: “My God turns my darkness into light.”
The refracted, shifting light breaking through the surface becomes a symbol of hope and divine grace, casting an iridescent glow on the siren’s form. This interplay of light and shadow recalls Psalm 18:28: “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” The light above embodies breath, life, and redemption, offering a stark contrast to the suffocating despair of the depths below.
Caught between the oppressive weight of the sea and the radiant promise of freedom above, the siren becomes a poignant symbol of the universal yearning for liberation, transcendence, and the transformative power of light in even the darkest depths.
Jessica Daniels
Van Mildert College
Nocturnal Spaces (2025)
Digital photography (taken from an original painting)
'My artwork explores what happens in the absence of light: when the sun sets, and the night unfolds. The painting is set in a nightclub dream scape. A scene with a sticky floor, flashing lights, and blurred figures merging as they dance, kiss and move in a disorientating space. It aims to capture how lights distort, conceal, and reveal different parts of us.
Inspired by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who, being disfigured in the late 19th century found solace in the Parisian underground nightlife, depicting expressive scenes, with prostitutes and performers. I also see parallels with the 1980s queer ballroom scene, where people uncovered raw, unfiltered parts of themselves under the safety of darkness and strobe lights.
Historically, the night has been both feared and embraced, like fire, a place of danger and refuge. Social norms shift in this space, boundaries blur, and reality warps under the influence of alcohol, music and moving light. Despite the uncertainty, these spaces remain alluring and comforting, offering freedom within the chaos. My artwork explores this tension between the urge to be seen and stay hidden, exist in the light versus the shadow.'
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