Artist statement

Teenage life; a constructed series of events that lead to ideas of your future. Some have grasped this idea already, some on the cusp, some are scared, lost in a sense of nostalgia, resisting the push of graduation and age. To be honest, I’m just lost, living in the present age, scared of what's to come and scared of what has been, lost in the abyss of my own paradise. The last three months of my life shoved into 3 minutes and 17 seconds. It depicts not only how I’m existing, but how I’m approaching it. What is ‘it’? Don’t really know, don’t really care as long as I’m doing something. Step after step, indulging in a façade, which I don’t try to hide behind. It just means I can close my eyes and float into my own Local Paradise. Where’s yours?

Process

To create this artwork, I wrote down the lyrics that really resonated and reflected the last 6 months of my day-to-day life as a teenager on the Gold Coast. I then wrote the music and the lyrics, then recorded it in Pro Tools, finally releasing the song on all music platforms under my artist name Parker. The film consisted of different photos and short videos using an iPhone, recreating a snapshot of my life over the past 6 months.

About the artist

I hope to play music with my band Parker. To see how far this journey begun in school will take me. I am inspired by those everyday experiences and interactions that are mostly mundane but create lasting memories. People learn more about themselves from art and music than they even know. The selection in these awards is the highlight of a year of highlights and endings. Year 12 has been hard going, but this is very exciting for the audience to not only see my artwork, but also hear my original song.