A sculpture crafted entirely out of rusted bike chains; a dress that depicts vast galaxies and radiant stars; paintings of browning avocados; a canvas adorned with old tardy passes, Polaroid photos, and college rejection letters.

These, along with a multitude of other works, were featured at the Senior Visual/Digital Showcase on May 21 at Armory Art Center. The show aimed to display a single piece from each senior, one that they’ve worked on all year and that held the most personal significance to them.

“You look forward to [the senior showcase] for four years, and regardless of whether you’re pursuing a career in the arts, it’s beyond amazing to finally be here,” visual senior Nicole Linder said. “Putting so much effort into one night and then being able to watch people admire your work–it’s the most satisfying thing I’ve ever felt.”

Among entering the building, one was exposed to three white-washed walls filled from top to bottom with pictures of students, teachers, and artist biographies. Guests mingled, picked from various platters of cheeses, crackers, and fruits, and admired the various pieces that adorned the room.

“What I really loved about the event is how diverse it was,” visual senior Isabella Montoya said. “I looked at some of the pieces and I thought to myself ‘how could someone ever come up with such an awesome idea?’”

The showcase featured pieces from every medium conceivable, including paintings, sculptures, videos, music, costumes, and collages. Each piece seemed to have different colors and patterns, such as “Architecture” by visual senior Victoria Pouille, an imaginary city crafted completely from memory and drawn in grayscale. Meanwhile, others were splattered with blotches of color, such as “Mt. Rushmore” by visual senior Jordyn Greenia. Greenia’s work featured a canvas decorated with multi-colored faces, which signifies different emotions and feelings of the human mind.

Preparation varied depending on the individual artist; however, most pieces took the entire year for seniors to complete. The works were focused on the artist’s concentration, which is a central idea prevalent in all the artists’ pieces.

 “I decided to wrap up my concentration by displaying my favorite piece, which is avocados in their various states of decomposition,” visual senior Victoria Morejon said. “I feel like they’re the most so unique; they have this distinct aesthetic beauty that reminds me of my Cuban-American heritage.”

Essentially, the pieces reflected the creativity, originality, and innovation that is so prevalent in Dreyfoos students. From a costume with multi-colored tentacles to a pink sculpture punctuated with protruding silver discs– the Senior Art Show opened the public’s eyes to new forms of art, proving that self-expression can be channelled in a multitude of different ways.