Images Courtesy of Oliver Godfrey and Malia Godfrey

A group of Eaglecrest students have been chosen to have their artwork presented at the Teen MOP (Month of Photography) art show. The art exhibition was at the Pirate Contemporary Art Gallery in Lakewood and ran from April 12th to the 28th. The show was described as, “a biennial celebration of fine art photography with hundreds of collaborative public events throughout the region.”

The Teen MOP art show presented photos engineered by high school students within the Denver Metro Area. There were four students from Eaglecrest in this show. The artwork of Hailey Stilley, Akina Bell, Tyler Hardin, and Oliver Godfrey were all presented in the show. Godfrey won first place in the art show, representing the whole metro area in the show stating, “I’m very proud of myself and I’ve received lots of kudos on the image, inside and outside of school. Winning first place feels like it shows that I do have talent, rather than someone just telling me ‘Good Job.’”

Each student that entered the show must only submit only one enter one photograph in order to be chosen and accepted into the art show. Students were judged upon the quality and craftsmanship, ranging from exposure to composition and even if there could be scratches and dust visible within the image. Students were also judged upon the creativity of the project. Factors such as originality and overall visual impact. Some pieces of artwork can be chosen to receive an award based on the judging of the artwork.

Godfrey also described that, “I’ve entered a few other events like this one and it’s cool to put your art out there.”

Godfrey explained that his piece, “…was a double exposure type photo where I had very feminine makeup on one side of my face and masculine makeup (square contouring and an eyeshadow beard) on the other and they’re facing away from each other. To me it really reflected my identity, masculine and feminine and in between. I’m not sure if it represents Eaglecrest as a whole, but more represents the ability people have to do great things when given the opportunities.”

Godfrey explained that the image could make an impact on society. He commented that,  “I think this image could give more of an inside look to the wide spectrum of transgender identities and the fluidity of gender presentation.”