Modern Day Refugees Artist Books

‘Girl Underground” by Morris Gleitzman is a Year 7 English text.

Whilst this novel was studied in English the students were given related extension work during their library classes.

They were required to research modern day refugees and the reason they left their home country. The students then brain-stormed words that related to being a refugee. They chose for themselves the top six words and were then set the following task.

Create a booklet which is free standing and on the six pages viewable when the booklet is standing. Create on each page an image which conveys the meaning of one of the six words. Students were limited to one or two colours only. Once the six panels were finished they then used the Magiclay to create and model a reoccurring ‘motif’ from the text or related to the experiences of a refugee.

The work presented here is unedited and visually demonstrates the development and deeper learning the individuals experienced as they worked through this task.

This work fed back into their English writing and it is important to note that students did not make the ‘connection’ with the idea of ‘motif’ in a novel until they had the Magiclay in their hand and it was at this exact moment that the idea of a bowl being symbolic for emptiness, or waves to carry people to joy and freedom, occurred.

Assumption College