Young artists have drawn inspiration from a museum's art collection for a new exhibition in Warrington. BTEC students from Priestley College were given access to the Warrington Museum and Art Gallery's archives as a starting point for their paintings. Their responses are now on display at the museum alongside the originals by artists such as Swoon, Candice Tripp, Blek Le Rat and Elbow Toe. Priestley Tutor Wendy Moore said the students were inspired by many different aspects of the work to which they were introduced. "It could be the colours, the technique, the subject matter or the story behind the artist that appealed to them," she said. "They were then asked to research the painting and the artist and create a new piece of work in response." All the students are in the second year of their BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Fine Art and their talent is obvious from the exhibition. Derek Dick, Exhibitions and Visitor Services Manager at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, said: "I've always described the Museum as a resource and a place for inspiration so it was great to be able to work with Priestley in this way. "The students' work looks amazing and it has been great to see it develop from their first visit to the museum in November, through my regular visits to the college and finally seeing the work up on the walls." The show is in the large art gallery and includes a piece called '1969' by former St Gregory's High pupil Alice Cornelia who is also studying Modern History at Priestley. She was inspired by Swoon's 'Argentina' and was moved by the artist's ability to show people considered as 'lower down in society' in a heroic light. Alice's image of a child highlights the turbulence of the Civil Rights movement and has references to the Black Panther Party. "Innocence can be seen in the hearts on the shirt emphasising a sense of neutrality children possess while being surrounded by such upheaval," she said. "This is contrasted by powerful images of Black Panther posters in the background of banners, protests and dominant leaders – portraying a sense of upheaval that was created."

The idea of a partnership between Priestley College and the Warrington Museum and Art Gallery was first proposed in July and the theme of the 'Human Form' was chosen. About 20 paintings from the museum's collection were selected ranging from contemporary art to traditional Victorian portraits. Former Sir Thomas Boteler pupil Callum Ford used Candice Tripp's 'Ed and Viv's Very Slow Adventure' as inspiration and also tapped into his own dislike of clowns. His work reflects Tripp's minimal use of colour and the sense of fear created by the South African artist's work. "I liked the idea of turning a clown into something that people wouldn't want to see," said Callum. "The hair includes subtle text like 'Look look, see the clown.' I included this because I wanted to consolidate that contradicting message of children's expectations of clowns, and the realisation that clowns are not always how they seem." Elbow Toe's 'Brother Can You Spare a Dime' inspired Rebecka Warburton's response called 'It Takes Two to Tango'. Former Birchwood High pupil Rebecka enjoyed Elbow Toe's use of symbolism and to further her understanding researched proverbs and their deeper meaning. "I was interested in the theme of conflict and used yellow roses to symbolise jealousy and antlers on the male dancer to symbolise his infidelity," she said. 'Inspired by' runs at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery until July 12 and the students' work is for sale.

Callum Ford
'Come Closer…'
Inspired by Ed and Viv’s very slow adventure by Candice Tripp

The piece of work features what looks like a clown in the background- its face has big, black eyes which provides an element of terror to the piece. So clowns became a major influence in the way I approached my own work. Regarding clowns, I personally dislike them. A contradicting message is consistent in Tripp’s work, so I started looking at how I could contradict people’s preconceptions of clowns by giving them blank stares, and a darkness in the eyes to represent the darkness that My clown exerts. I liked the idea of turning a clown into something that people wouldn’t want to see in general. The little, but intense use of colour in the face was used to reference Tripp’s minimal amount of somewhat primary colours to bring a diverse range of style to the piece. The hair included subtle text like ‘Look look, see the clown.’ I included this because I wanted to consolidate that contradicting message of children’s expectations of clowns, and the realisation that clowns are not always how they seem.

Alice Cornelia
'1969'
Inspired by “Argentina” by Swoon

I admired how this artist portrayed her figures. In showing admiration for people who are viewed as lower down in society and exploited for this; she makes them a powerful focal point in a heroic light despite this adversity. Like Swoon, I wanted to take this idea of giving people who are largely forgotten about in society a platform. In response to this, I focused on the turbulence of the Civil Rights movement; more specifically I referred to the Black Panther movement in the later 1960s in elements of this piece. Like swoons portrayal of exploitation and her use of child figures to emphasise this on the other work, I was also inspired by the powerful contrast this created. The image of a child amongst such upheaval highlights the blatant violation of Human rights whether it’d be exploitation or racism or segregation. Innocence can be seen in the hearts on the shirt emphasising a sense of neutrality children possess while being surrounded by such upheaval which is contrasted by powerful images of Black Panther posters in the background of banners, protests, dominant leaders – portraying a sense of upheaval the panthers created.

Rebecka Warburton
'It Takes Two To Tango'
Inspired by... "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" by Elbow Toe

Elbow Toe’s print inspired me because of the symbolism throughout the piece of work, this is something I had been addressing in my own recent work and wanted to develop further. In response to Elbow Toe’s work I researched proverbs and the deeper meaning behind them. I selected "It Takes Two to Tango" because of the possibilities within the imagery. I was interested in the theme of conflict and used yellow roses to symbolise jealousy and antlers on the male dancer to symbolise his infidelity.

Holly Grimes
I have 4 prints each named after nursery rhymes:
'Silver Bells and Cockle Shells | Broke His Crown | All Fall Down | See How They Run'
Inspired by, ‘Klaus finds a child’ by Candice Tripp.

I chose this piece of work for my inspiration because I felt that it linked to the theme that I was already working on, I was interested in the reality behind seemingly innocent children’s stories. This was because the imagery in Tripps work at first looked lovely and innocent and then when you looked closer you started to realise that the image actually was sinister and wasn’t as innocent as you initially thought. I love the simplicity of the work and that even though it was so simple it still managed to make me feel so uncomfortable once I had noticed the images secret.
This reminded me of nursery rhymes linked to all of our childhoods that are fun and playful songs, but often they can be quite brutal tales linked to history and death. ‘Jack and Jill’ is thought to originate from the execution of Louis XVI and ‘Ring O’ Roses’ came from the Bubonic Plague. I wanted to combine both the innocent element of the rhyme with the darker hidden history of what it really represents.

Taylor Marshall
'David and Gaynor'
inspired by Swoon's "Alixa and Naima"

This piece that I have created was inspired by Swoon's piece of work "Alixa and Naima" I was drawn to this piece as I like the way that at first glance you can see how loose and free the lines are and how she captures emotion and energy in the portraits, but also capturing a good likeness. I was also interested to see that she experimented on different surfaces that have a sense of history and decay, that adds an extra dimension to the work.
I looked through my family photo albums and picked out a nice photo of David and Gaynor that captures a moment early in their relationship. I worked on mirror because I think it is important to look back and reflect on life and see how things change and develop, how relationships move on and memories fade.

Mitchell Lovelady
'Be Silently Drawn’
Inspired by Lorraine Robbins aka Mousey Brown - Mousey and Sparrow

This piece was inspired visually by the illustrative style of Mousey Brown. Aside from finding her work aesthetically pleasing, I felt particularly drawn to it upon hearing about how she began her art career in the shadow of her elder sister. I sympathised with her story, having often found myself the underdog and denying myself opportunities.  
The piece which I have responded to depicts a girl with mouse ears and a defiant, stubborn expression. I loved the charisma behind it, and my response appropriately followed from a part of me which refuses to back down.
The imagery in my response itself is quite far removed from the original, but for the presence of a bird figure in both pieces. 
My piece is very personal to me, but my overall intention was to create something terribly self-indulgent and to remind people that they should allow themselves happiness wherever they find it and accept their blessings even in the face of adversity.

Aurora Brown
‘Sign language’
Inspired by Elbow Toe ‘Better Half 2’

I was inspired to do this piece of work when I saw Elbow Toes double portrait of him and his wife. I really liked the subtle use of sign language where the couple are communicating, without anyone really knowing what they are saying to each other. I have been interested in sign language and have been taking classes myself, and find it a really rewarding experience. I wanted to use the hidden meaning and message in my own work developing a strong contrast between the person I chose to portray and the sign that they are using. I used the image of a very kind and warm person and contrasted it with the sign for ‘evil’, using contrasting colour to reinforce this.

Joseph Hanlon
Misconceptions of innocence
Inspired by ‘Beggar’ by Blek Le Rat

The work shows a young boy begging for money on the streets of France, and at first glance people assume that it is in fact a thug, because it is a dark shadowy figure wearing a hoody. The artists intention is to highlight the French government turning a blind eye on the problem of homeless children and was more interested in focusing on small issues like the smoking ban, the idea that the viewer thought nothing of the work, dismissing it because they thought it was a thug portrays the meaning very well.
For my response to this I decided to use a little girl stealing the Blek Le Rat piece. You would not expect a young innocent girl to go into a gallery and steal the work, I wanted to play on the expectations of the viewer and challenge their preconceptions. I think that even if it was a little boy stealing the print, people wouldn’t be quite as surprised. The way that young people are portrayed in the media casts us in a very negative light, when I think we make a valuable contribution to society.