Situated at the cornerstone of the art wing, Laura Lim, a senior at Portsmouth High School, has their artwork passed by students every day. Did you ever question what went behind the work, the colors, the shading, or the vision?
Lim started out drawing with charcoal after meeting a childhood friend, before diversifying after moving from Massachusetts to Portsmouth in June of 2020, the year COVID struck the world. She quickly worked on her portfolio, a smorgasbord filled with various mediums, ideas, societal issues, and two cats — one of her own, and another of a friend. A few particular drawings stuck out — one being a piece containing skeletons and crosses.
The skeleton was made in the wake of the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade, a case that gave states the authority to ban abortion care. Lim felt like making a statement about it.
“One of the projects in my drawing class was to make a drawing out of just words, and not with lines or anything like that,” Lim said. “It’s like a cause or purpose, because, you know, that’s where the women’s reproductive system is and them over their mouths to show the silencing that the supreme court did.”
Another piece, called “Lilith,” covered the image of women in today’s world, and won a state award for the piece.
“It was just to capture the innocence of a woman, but also how society will look at her as sinful if she does anything that society deems, like, not graceful, in a sense,” Lim said. “I just wanted to portray those things as a physical form. The cracks are that mirror image of a woman; like, the innocence, and also the darkness.
There’s also some light sides to Lim’s art. The main interest of the display — a photo of Lim with her friend, Amelia Tabit, a PHS senior, was a branch into the past. The photo was taken in the aftermath of COVID, and helped demonstrate how the pandemic affected everyone, for better or for worse.
“I know it was a challenging piece to make but I’m honored that she took the time to make something with me in it!” said Tabit. “And to put it right in the center of the board! It’s funny to walk down the hallway and see myself staring from the wall.”
“I took this picture spontaneously and I saw it in my gallery when I was looking for photos to paint and I thought it was cute,” Lim said. “And I thought that seeing the masks was a good thing to point out because none of my other artwork shows COVID, which was a huge part of my life.”
The panel outside the art wing features one artist, chosen by a panel of teachers, according to Sarah Mundy, one of three art teachers at PHS.
Lim’s work is currently showcased at the “Artist of the Month” panel, outside the art wing. Plenty of other artists are featured throughout the year on the PHS Art Instagram page.
