Southland arts patrons are being invited to step inside a virtual exhibition by Bachelor of Screen Arts year two students from the Southern Institute of Technology.

The students and their tutors launched the Pixibit virtual art exhibition on June 12 after working on the project for the two months, including during the month-long COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown.

The students had intended to make physical pieces to be viewed in person but unprecedented changes to their lifestyles presented them with completely new challenges. As a result, the Pixibit exhibition was made completely online, tutor Traci Meek said.

The exhibition website contains a variety of works and mediums created by film, game and animation students and will remain online for at least another week. (June 26)

Student team leader Zeta-Rose Aldridge said she had intended making a sculpture. 

COVID-19 unlocked innovative and experimental ways of working with and editing photographs and her piece, “A World On Fire”, gradually emerged over several weeks.

Sometimes she felt her work was unproductive, other times she felt she went off course or lacked motivation, but throughout the project, she never lost sight of her vision.

“I wanted to convey the emotions of wrath, honour, fear and hope. These emotions have been surrounding 2020 as we moved through different disasters that affected so many people. I felt it was important to take the emotions I have felt around me and reflect them in art.

“Honestly, when creating “A World on Fire” I think I felt all the emotions that I sought to portray. This project was created in a time of nationwide lockdown, fearful news from other countries and in a time during the world where everything was uncertain,” she said.

Student Edwin Nicholson has been experimenting on the theme of “retro-futurism” for two years and asked himself if he could recreate the style of a pulp science fiction paperback novel.

“Originally, I was planning to use airbrushing for the work and to print the covers onto a real paperback so you could see it physically. 

“However due to the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown I wasn’t able to do so because I lacked certain materials and I was a bit restricted. This completely digital version should provide an insight to what I was originally planning,” he said.

Mr Nicholson ended up creating art for three sci-fi novel covers.

Miss Aldridge said although it became more complicated to complete the project due to the pandemic, the students adapted to the changing world and managed to accomplish an exhibition everyone would enjoy.

See it online HERE.