Southland Girls High student Maddie Furness, 17, is one of 44 students from around Southland and Otago making their mark on the City Gallery in the exhibition Art Through Our Eyes, which runs until early next month.

The art boards that line the gallery until April 10 have come from the visual arts departments of 13 secondary schools.

Maddie said her work was inspired by the contrast between the Southland landscape and the dry, arid high desert she encountered in Chile on a student exchange.

"We don't have cactus in New Zealand," she said, explaining her interest - the use of guns in the board was to add a "wild west" tone to the acrylic paintings. Conveniently, it also added structure and form.

She has also included skulls, a box Brownie camera and lenses that incorporate images, similar to a kaleidoscope.

"I wanted to show that we all have eyes, but we see things differently."

Secondary schools that contributed art include Wakatipu High, Aparima College, Menzies College and Waiau Area School.

City Gallery coordinator Kathryn Blomfield said the range and depth of ideas and creativity from schools around the region was impressive, displaying a new generation of artists. Art Through Our Eyes will be at the City Gallery on Don St until April 10.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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