Gen Z is the generation of truth, exploration and identity, according to researchers Zurich and McKinsey & Company.

Those themes are evident in the artwork of teenagers Julia Veloso and Ella Hubbard, on display now in Echoes of the Mind, an art show at the Bermuda High School for Girls.

In the exhibition, one of Julia’s truths is the negative consequences of hindering self-expression.

“My work is about how not using your voice can have major consequences,” the 17-year-old said. “I want to encourage more people to speak out about certain topics.”

In one of her pieces, a man smiles out at an industrial landscape while men in the clouds frown down at the same scene.

“There are opposing views in the piece, but one is not spoken about as much,” she said.

She wants her art to resonate.

“I try to make my art as relatable and personable as possible,” she said. “I want it to be something that makes people feel that they are not really alone.”

Ella, 18, makes social commentary with her work.

“Art is the one way that I can truly show people how I view the world, without necessarily using words or writing,” she said.

Doctors diagnosed learning challenges in Ella when she was younger. She thinks her learning differences give her a unique perspective on the world, which is ultimately an advantage.

She often uses her art to explore gender norms and perceptions.

“For the art show, I did this really cool theme with wooden art doll mannequins,” she said. “I really liked finding ways to use them to convey deeper meaning.”

One of her works, an accordion-style sketchbook, uses advertisements to examine how perception of people in the media is often different from real life.

Looking forward, both young artists were sceptical of the rise of artificial intelligence.

Ella conceded that AI had its benefits when used in the right way, but said as an artist she was “very, very against” generative AI, which can create realistic pictures or copy the style of an artist to produce a new work.

“It is very frustrating for artists because we spend so much time honing, practising and perfecting our skills, only to be overshadowed by AI,” Ella said.

Julia called AI “a bit scary”.

“It is very easy to just type in a prompt and get a full-on artwork,” she said.

After graduating from BHS this year, Ella has a full acceptance and scholarship to study animation at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Julia has a conditional acceptance to Ontario College of Art and Design, and is also considering Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Canada.

“I will be doing a bit of fine arts,” she said. “I will also be studying some animation, film, design and gallery work.”

They were concerned about the lack of scholarships available in Bermuda for students interested in the arts.

“I was flipping through an updated version of the Bermuda scholarship booklet, and could only pick out one scholarship that I could apply to, and it was not specifically for the arts, just a general scholarship,” Julia said. “That was out of 30 to 50 scholarships in that book.”

She found it frustrating.

“It seemed to prioritise finance and medical careers,” she said.

Ella argued that art is important to society, too.

“We need packaging for foods and snacks, and things like that,” she said. “We need people to design houses, buildings and massive machines.”

She said every man-made product first needs an artist to draw out the idea.

“If you need a website, you hire a web designer,” she said. “You need art to translate ideas and thoughts into something physical. It is so, so important.”

Julia wanted to be an artist since she was 10.

“I always told my mom that I was going to be an artist because I really liked sketching,” she said. “I wasn’t that good back then, but I had a passion.”

Ella originally wanted to be a pilot.

“Then I realised you have to be really good at mathematics for that,” she said. “Around age 9 or 10, I decided to take art more seriously. I would get in trouble for drawing in class, especially in middle school.”

She got into animation in 2020 because she wanted to try something new.

“I ended up really liking it,” she said.

Julia is influenced by the work of Austrian expressionist painter Egon Schiele and the hyperrealistic charcoal work of Scottish artist Paul Cadden.

“I am really inspired by my art mentor, Paul Richmond,” Ella said.

She started taking classes with the California resident online in 2020 during Covid-19 social-distancing measures.

“He has been such a big inspiration for me,” she said. “He is mainly an oil painter, but also does murals and commissions. He is also an LGBTQ+ activist.”

Some of her artwork was included in Mr Cadden’s autobiography, Star Gazing. She also wrote the afterword for his book.

Echoes of the Mind has work by students in their final year of the International Baccalaureate art programme at BHS, including Khamai Bean, Nadia DeSousa and De-Ary Thomas.

It is on now and open to the public during school hours in the Joy Bluck Arts Wing at BHS on Richmond Road in Pembroke.