Sudoku at Fulford School

On the 24th November. Patrick Wildgust, the Curator of Shandy Hall, and Lucy Shortis, who works with Tom Phillips, visited Fulford School to talk to Y12 and Y13 Art and English students and explain more about Tom Phillips's practice. We looked at some of the works in the Elsinore Library exhibition and photographs from the studio showing the ways in which these works were made. We focussed on Phillips sudoku paintings, especially those made from different leaf and soil colours, illustrated above. On the following day students bought in their own materials to make their own sudoku pieces. There was great diversity and imagination in what they chose to work with, fingerprints, playing cards, wallpaper, prints from coins, photographs as well as graphic elements. Everyone worked to the same completed sudoku puzzle so although the finished pieces looked very different the repeats in the pattern were the same. During the exercise we talked about artists who work to self-imposed rules and systems. The students had direct experience of how, beyond chosing the materials, the look of the finished work was dictated by the puzzle rather than by personal choice. Here are some photographs of the students at work.