We are delighted to announce that Rika G (L5) was awarded the First Prize in the IAPS Art Prize 2025 in the category Year 9-10. Rika has been invited to the awards ceremony in Mayfair, London, to collect her prize in June.

The judges commented on the work: “The judges felt it was a skilful portrait painted on Perspex, cleverly creating the effect of a mirror, with artichokes symbolising layers of memory and reflection.”

To accompany her entry, Rika wrote about her piece “Self-portrait with artichokes”:

“I painted this self-portrait on perspex to simulate me looking at my reflection in a window. I reflect on childhood memories of artichokes growing in my grandmother’s garden and how the plant’s leaves around a soft core are like the layers of memories that have built up through my life making me who I am today. The different stages of the artichoke reflect stages of life: from the plump artichoke bud to the withering thistle flower, then delicate seed ready to disperse. In art history, the artichoke represents fertility and femininity whilst also being an emblem of Venus.”

We are delighted to receive this news and congratulate Rika on her much deserved prize.

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