Mr ALISTER HENSKENS (Wahroonga) (17:10): Recently, I was once again delighted to attend the annual Art North Exhibition at the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery at Abbotsleigh. This year, the gallery showcased artworks from the 2024 year 12 visual arts students across the Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby district. The students put a significant amount of time and effort into their pieces and hanging them in the gallery is a lovely way to honour that hard work and excellence. Dylan Ahern from Normanhurst Boys High School created the sculpture titled Echoes of the Machine. This sculpture is described as a conjugation of discarded machine parts in various states of disrepair and has been made from old machine parts to be given a new life. Mia Benson from Barker College designed, using textiles and fibre, four portraits titled Fibres of Love (Fabrication of My Heritage). The portraits progress generationally and examine how individual heritage shapes identity.

Zoe Chan from Loreto Normanhurst painted an artwork titled Family, which was inspired by the importance of food in contemporary society and throughout centuries—specifically, how food is a universal product that brings people together. Another incredible painting was done by Belle Harvey from St Leo's Catholic College. The painting titled, Lost in Animation, demonstrates the changes that technology brings to our lives as it becomes a more prominent and effortless element of the world. From Abbotsleigh, Cici Xe painted Roll UP! Roll UP, a painting that explores the beauty of the circus and its disappearance in today's electronically fuelled society. Henry Hua from Knox Grammar School made a collection of works titled Deconstruction of the Monolithic. Henry describes the artwork as the bittersweet essence of the brutalist architecture—something that Dominic Perrottet has never got. Lincoln James from Barker College painted a triptych oil painting titled It is what it is. He describes it as existential questioning through the philosophy of absurdism. When I was opening the exhibition, I had a chat to Lincoln about his painting and how he likes this form of art because he can amalgamate realistic and nonsensical imagery, reflecting the idea of It is what it is.

Thenuki Jayasekara from Pymble Ladies' College drew an amazing artwork titled Cultural Fluidity, which was centred on the artist's Sri Lankan background and cultural heritage. Thenuki created this artwork to represent the ways in which culture forms around identity. Turramurra High School student Holly‑Ann Keen created a photo media artwork, which she describes as displaying the exposure and vulnerability of the body and human form and explores the need to cover or distort insecurities, or guard one's identity from projecting. Will Kim from Normanhurst Boys High School drew an artwork titled Amidst the Gradation of History. The triptych of portraits illustrates a family lineage and its relationship of mutual dependency with modern South Korean history. Olivia Lee‑Jackson from Loreto Normanhurst used printmaking to create Bird Brain: Together We Serve, Together We Mourn. This artwork plays into the irony that birds and humans share many cognitive abilities, yet we can discount, underestimate and even consider them intrusive in our daily lives.

From Pymble Ladies' College, Angela Liu drew In His Name, which is an artwork representing the inner strength and character of her father. Her drawing is incredibly lifelike and incredibly meaningful. Harrison Robb from Knox Grammar School made a collection of works titled Out of the Ashes. He predominantly used postmodern media to create a body of work that explores the inherent beauty and resilience of the banksia through realistic and stylised forms. Luka Simonovic from Turramurra High School drew an artwork titled The Herd. Rosemary Willett from St Leo's Catholic College drew a piece titled Night Walks. From Hornsby Girls High School, Talise Xu painted Life as an Opera, which critiques the inherent performativity of living within a society that demands conformity. Also from Hornsby Girls High School, Fiona Yee painted Two Homes. Finally, Ella Yu from Abbotsleigh painted Passenger Reveries—Past, Present and Future, which explores the connections and beauty of urban landscapes and natural skyscapes. I must say that the art was absolutely outstanding. Our future is in great hands with these wonderful young artists.