Leeton artist Sarah Louise zooms into Sydney gallery

Sarah's work has been selected for the Zoomers exhibition at the Hazelhurst Gallery in Cronulla.

The exhibition is a collection of outstanding HSC artworks, with the name Zoomers referring to art created by Generation Z.

All six artworks of her HSC portfolio were included; Deep Sea Woe, The Guardian, Mental Caveat and two handmade puppets.

"I didn't know I had been nominated until the works had been accepted," Sarah said.

The exhibition features the work of 2021 HSC students from around the state, and at the opening of the exhibition Sarah was one of four students invited to speak about what she had created and portrayed.

Accompanied by her family to the opening of the exhibition, Sarah said it was an incredibly special occasion.

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While her talk took people through the creation of the art, it also focused on a message Sarah hoped to share about feelings of depression and anxiety.

"Depression and anxiety is something that we all experience, it's when it starts to get out of control it becomes a problem," she said.

"People shouldn't have to feel this way all the time."

Sarah said events like R U OK helped raise awareness, but she said there was a lack of understanding about what happens after asking the question and what people should do after someone tells them they're not OK.

"I'll continue down the path as long as depression and anxiety is an issue we should talk about," she said.

Sarah said she wanted to help encourage people to find ways to help when it was needed.

"It's not hard as a community to do something about it."

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After her talk, patrons spoke to Sarah about her art, what they had understood and what how they reacted to it.

"It was very exciting to see people stop and see my artwork and ask questions about it," she said.

"The curator said I left a lasting impact, there's no better praise for an artist."

The icing on the cake for Sarah was meeting Mulga, a professional artist from Sydney, who shared his appreciation for her work.

"He told me my body of work was his favourite," she said.

After finishing high school last year, Sarah will spend a gap year working in Leeton before heading off to Sydney to refine her talents at university.

Sarah said she needed to thank her mum and family for supporting her, and Tamara Lowry from Dubbo distance education for helping her develop and refine her technique.

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