YOUNG Warrington artists are staging their first public exhibition at the Pyramid centre.

Priestley College students spent months preparing and creating the pieces now on display at the Palmyra Square venue.

They took their inspiration from street art in Warrington Museum and Art Gallery and other artists they have studied on their art and design BTEC course.

“It’s great to think that other people are seeing my work and making their own opinions about it,” said Tamar Phillips, who hopes to study fine art at university.

The students were given a wide brief to experiment with both ideas and materials as long as they took initial inspiration from a practising street artist. Priestley College organised a walking tour that took in the work of some of the most prolific and talented street artists in London.

Former Helsby High School pupil Tamar used wood and glass to create a piece that commented on the potentially negative impact of technology, especially mobile phones, on young people.

“I liked the large scale of some of the pieces we saw on the tour – something the size of a house was created in less than a day,” she said.

Georgia Taylor, a former pupil at Bridgewater High School in Appleton, painted portraits onto concrete slabs.

The 18-year-old, who plans to study art foundation at Priestley in September, used three people from college as her muses and the work of Ben Slow as her starting point.

Georgia said: “I like how bold his portraits are. I added words to my portraits because I wanted to show there’s more to people than what you see in their faces.”

This is the fourth collaboration between Priestley College and the Warrington Museum.

To create a ‘set’ befitting of the work and exhibition space at the Pyramid Priestley tutor Gary Jones called on R&R Scaffolding to build a structure on which to mount the work.

Students then enjoyed a private viewing before opening to the Pyramid’s visitors.

Gary added: “It becomes real for the students once they have an exhibition in the public domain. We are very grateful to everyone who helped make this possible for them.”

The show is open until Friday, July 14, and is in the gallery on the second floor of the Pyramid, accessible during regular opening hours.