You will need
- Magazine and newspaper images of urban and rural landscapes for each group of 4–6 students
- Scissors
- Tracing paper
- Pencils and paint
- Masking tape
Hurvin Anderson
Be inspired by artist Hurvin Anderson and make your own layered collages that explore landscape and belonging
Explore the artwork
Hurvin Anderson
Hawksbill Bay (2020)
Lent by Tate Americas Foundation, courtesy of Mala Gaonkar 2023
Your students don’t need to know anything about an artwork or artist to start exploring it.
Use these quick group activities to build their confidence and curiosity in sharing their first responses to the artwork. Some artworks they might like straight away, some they might not.
Discovering art can be new, exciting and sometimes confusing. There are no right or wrong ways to respond!
In pairs, take it in turns to imagine the artworks answering these questions and telling their story.
- What are you made from?
- When were you made?
- What has happened here?
- Do you want me to feel sad or joyful, or something else?
- What else would you like to say?
In pairs or as a group, use your body to respond to the artwork.
Mirror movements or shapes in the artwork
Imagine sounds the artwork might make
Trace the artwork in the air with your hands
Move like the artwork
What else could you do?
About the artwork
Hawksbill Bay 2020 is inspired by a beach in Jamaica, which Hurvin Anderson has described as 'beautiful and inhospitable'. Anderson applies oil paint in a variety of consistencies, ranging from thin washes that seep into one another, to areas of more evenly applied and thicker paint. He often works from photographs that he has taken of a subject, assembling parts of these to create collage-like images that form the basis of his compositions.
The painting reflects on the effects of tourism and development in Jamaica, as well as Anderson's own relationship with the island, which is where his parents were born.
Hurvin Anderson’s paintings are shaped by both his British and Caribbean heritage; he was born in Birmingham in the 1960s. He is interested in the traditions of landscape painting and the history of abstraction.
Make
Hawksbill Bay prompts us to think about how images are constructed and the stories they tell. In this activity, make your own artwork exploring Hurvin Anderson’s technique of collaging images together.
- In groups of 4–6 gather around the magazine/newspaper images spread out on the table. Choose an image that reflects your personal sense of ‘place’ or home. Share your reasons with one another by saying ‘I picked this image because …’
- Overlay the image you have chosen with tracing paper. Your image may be smaller or bigger than the tracing paper so think about which bit of the image you want to trace. Now tape down the top two corners of the tracing paper and trace the image with a pencil.
- Choose another image that you are drawn to and repeat the process by tracing this as well.
- Next choose an image that is very different to your first two selections – this could have less detail, bigger shapes or more pattern. Trace this image onto your tracing paper.
ADAPT
Gather two piles of images: one of objects, things or people and one of shapes, colours or patterns.
Take turns for everyone to select an image from the different piles and stick them down close together on a sheet of paper.
On top of this collage, make a mark or shape using wax crayons. Then pass your collage through a tray of watered-down paint. Do this quickly, as you don’t want the paper to become too wet. Hold the paper over the tray to allow excess paint to drip off. This will also allow the wax to resist the paint.
Hang up the dripping collages to help them to dry and to display them! Look at the collages together as a group.
5. Move all your magazine/newspaper images to one side and look at what you have made.
6. Use a pen, paint or ink to go over all the lines and bring the different elements of your drawing together.
7. How is your drawing different to the magazine/newspaper images you started with?
How is your drawing different to the magazine/newspaper images you started with?
What kind of landscape have you made? Is it rural or urban or something else?
8. At the end of your lesson, bring all of your pieces to the front of your classroom and look at them together. Find each other’s landscapes and celebrate the artwork you’ve just made!
What have you learned by experimenting with layering, collage and drawing?
What do the images you included represent to you?
Extend
Use paint to develop your image by overlaying a new piece of tracing paper onto your drawing. Use one colour to fill in all the areas of your composition that you think are in the background.
Then, choose a different colour to paint over the line of one particular part or detail. Maybe this is an object, a pattern or a series of lines. Fill in all the new shapes with lots of different colours to move the image from something recognisable (figurative) to something abstract.
Be really experimental with the material of paint. If you have discovered something about how the paint bleeds, overlays, or looks different from the back of the tracing paper, try pushing this element further by exaggerating or repeating it. You could then cut into your work and turn it into a brand new collage.
How to use art makes
Making art is a powerful way to learn new skills, explore ideas and express ourselves creatively. Encourage your students to discover new materials, techniques and methods inspired by great artists at Tate.
- Prepare
- Project the artwork in your classroom and/or print off copies for your students to have in front of them.
2. Explore (10 minutes)
- Invite your students to respond to the artwork through the group activity.
- Read the background information on the artwork and the artist.
3. Make (30 minutes)
- Follow the step-by-step instructions.
- Use the Adapt section for accessible alternatives to this activity.
- Use the Extend activity within the same lesson or in a future session.
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