Five years later, Elena, who completed VCE at Hoppers Crossing Secondary College last year, stands proudly in front of Growth, her painting that, during the next six weeks, is expected to be seen by 50,000 people at the National Gallery of Victoria. Growth represents Elena's new life, which she says has flowered like the red hibiscus that is the subject of her art. She has managed to make a fresh life in suburban Melbourne. Elena's art is one of just 48 pieces selected for the 2000 Top Art exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. The exhibition, in the airy upper gallery of the old museum, is stunning in its variety and sophistication.
Huge paintings sit comfortably with small, detailed drawings.
Costumes jostle for attention with video art and photography. An innovative collection of prints on flywire by Naomi Barrett tells the story of an El Salvadorian child, now living in Australia, who was just four when soldiers killed some of his family and destroyed their home. Naomi used art to convey his story. The Firbank Grammar student, a volunteer with World Vision, spent hours on the delicate task of sewing overhead transparencies onto pieces of flyscreen before attaching them to a series of horizontal metal rods, a bit like those which hold up curtains. It was no easy task to unravel the child's story, and Naomi spoke to him and his family through an interpreter.