This year saw Upper Sixth Former Merlin Toms reach the Grand Final of the ARTiculation competition, an annual national public speaking competition which invites Sixth Form students to give a short presentation on a piece of work, an artefact or a piece of architecture of their choice.
After a close round of internal heats, both Merlin Toms and fellow Upper Sixth Former Christian Tyrrell were selected to represent the school at the Regional Final, which took place at Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury. Mark Bills, the Director of Gainsborough’s House, congratulated Christian on opening up the imagination to the world of Zdzisław Beksiński and for his exploration of the traumatic effects of war. However, Merlin’s well-structured and well-researched presentation on The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault won the day; Mark Bills was particularly impressed with how well Merlin had managed to convey his interest in the painting to the audience.
Merlin’s authoritative talk began with how the harrowing story of the Raft of the Medusa was immortalised through Géricault’s brushstrokes. From there, he thoroughly analysed the artist’s process, which gave him excellent grounding for discussing the importance of the colour, tone and composition. Merlin effectively weaved the formal qualities of the painting to the content, interpreting the individual figures as subjects of their own stories, encapsulating a variety of emotions. Merlin’s personal response to the work and his confidence in articulating such a complex subject matter within 10 minutes earned him a place at the ARTiculation Grand Final.
Merlin explained, “During my coursework project, I had the opportunity to analyse Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa. I was immediately struck by the power and drama of the painting. The painting is a social and political commentary on the corruption of the French government, which had led to the events depicted. The painting is deeply moving and thought-provoking, mixed with a masterfully executed composition.”
He went on to say, “I chose to be put forward for the regional final as I thought it would be a good opportunity to work on my public speaking. Also, going to the National last year to see Tyler in the competition encouraged me to take part.”
On Tuesday 28 March, Merlin presented his talk to a packed audience in Room 32 of the National Gallery, for the Grand Final of the ARTiculation competition. The final was adjudicated by Director of the National Gallery, Dr Gabriele Finaldi.
Merlin showed great courage presenting first at this year’s Grand Final, and was highly commended by Dr Finaldi. He praised Merlin for his incredible ability to analyse The Raft of the Medusa, stating how his presentation reminds us how important it is to look again. He said of Merlin’s presentation, “You gave us all a sense of why paintings are important, you dealt with state scandals and what happens when human beings are put in impossible situations. You also gave us an insight into how Géricault constructed his paintings and analysed the composition very well’.
With 120 schools entering the competition, Merlin did exceptionally well in reaching the shortlist of nine individuals competing from across the nation. He represented the school in an exemplary fashion and was unfortunate to miss out on a placing, amongst some very strong competitors. Merlin has since been inducted into the ARTiculation Alumni Network, through which a plethora of opportunities are made available to finalists. A huge well done to Merlin for this superb achievement.
Photo credit: Photo © Hydar Dewachi
