How can we get round this problem in gcse art?

[Smithermetimbers]

Ds has adhd, asd (demand avoidance). He is doing AQA art gcse.
So the art exam ‘brief’ is self portraits and identity. Teacher has said they need to take photographs of themselves to use in the 5 hour art exam. Ds is incredibly anxious about this, he is really self conscious. I spoke to teacher over the phone, she said most students are very reluctant to take and use photos of themselves but that it would be fine to obscure face behind hands/mask or similar. Ds has tried but cannot take a photo that he is happy with and is massively stressed out about it. The exam is looming and he has no photos.
I’m thinking that the exam board surely cannot be specifically requiring that all students take photos of themselves? And is there not more to the brief than ‘self portraits identity’ that they’ve been given? If I can find out what the brief actually is then I could spend some time with ds figuring out a way he can meet that brief without it causing him massive anxiety. (Ironic as drawing has always been a way for him to calm himself up until now!)

www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/art-and-design/gcse/art-and-design-8201-8206/changes-for-2021

Here is the AQA specs.

Can he take a photo of something that he feels represents himself? His clothes laid out on the bed, his shoes, a close up of a part of his body or hair, his bookshelf or a photo of a photo that he does like? I don't know if any of those will be suitable but a photo of something might be better than a photo of nothing?

Is he completing component 2 as I don’t think he had to this year?

There is no reason to sit an exam this year. Only his portfolio is needed.

Is he Y10 or Y11? If y11 there is no exam this year, just the portfolio. In normal years the exam is never this prescriptive anyway. It’s things like “produce your own response to the theme “perspectives”” or “produce your own response to the theme “human figure””. and there will be lots of choice

I’m so drink if school are going their own assessments and following guidance that students need to be assessed on the sand pieces of work. Therefore assigning a theme as it were. If they are they have misunderstood how things are to be assessed. Parents can ring AQA too OP. There’s an option on the main number if you’re a parent.

I’m wondering that should say. No clue where the drink came from

He is yr 10 and this is the mock exam. Not sure at all if it counts towards his final mark. (I bloody hope not cos he isn’t prepared)
I also thought there would be a lot more opportunity to be original and interpret a brief in your own way, isn’t that part of art, to do something original?

In terms of “getting around it” what he needs to do is explain the photo he wants to take rather than take a photo with a conventional explanation. So he could take a photo with his face covered either physically (hold a magazine in front of it) or digitally manipulated and write some waffle about how tribal identity in youth culture both celebrates and erases individuality. He can distort his face with pretty much the same explanation. Or he recreates a face using objects that he can pretend are part of his identity. It could be anything.

No a mock won’t count unless we have assessed grades next year and who knows if that’ll happen. So it could be important.

As it’s a mock exam it’s entirely up to the school how they structure it. It is not externally modified nor is it governed by AQA.

You need to talk to the SENCO and head of curriculum at your school.

Could he use someone else’s face? A closed eye, hands over face etc. The art would still be the same.

Also does he have any Access Arrangements authorised officially? If so the SENCO will know and it may be that his AA can be considered. As it’s Mocks the school can literally do what they want so it’s fully up to them.

Could he use a photo of himself when he was a baby, toddler, young child etc?

The teacher could change the brief, that hasn’t been set by AQA. It sounds like a school set C1 mock exam theme. (I teach AQA art too.)
Could he draw something that represents him? The teacher needs to be flexible due to his ASD. (My yr 10s are doing a mock soon and all their themes are different, as are their outcomes!)

nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/still-life-self-portrait-frances-hodgkins

Ps re a final mark, everything for Component 1 gets marked together holistically using 4 assessment objectives. So it does go towards the “final” mark, but as part of a project.

Take it from side or back of head, items which interest him? The finished work does not need to be literal portrait.

Could he use a photo of his younger self/toddler age?

I wonder why gcse art has had this same brief for like 20+ years given that teenagers hated it then and hate it now ?!
Photo of reflection in a distorting mirror or other contorting reflective surface?
Photo with face covered?
Photo on full face paint?
Could be anything.

How about he works towards a more abstract kind of portrait... footprints/ fingerprints/ etc

Can he take a picture of his feet? Or his favourite shoes? Or dress a teddy in his favourite T-Shirt? Or get all of his favourite things together and arrange them in a creative way? This is what identifies him so should be allowed.

If it really has to be a photo of him, can he take a mirror into the exam? A SENCO might be able to make this accommodation if he has these issues with his own photograph?

Would he be comfortable with photos taken of the back of him?

Portraits don't have to be front view or side on, or even have a face. I once had a conversation where I expressed surprise that I was able to identify someone from behind, who I had only met once or twice before. The person I was talking to said his wife had had her portrait painted by an artist who specialised in painting the back of people's heads and not their faces. It's quite an interesting phenomena to explore - how we can recognise people from all angles and not just from their faces.

Get a great big watermelon. Hold in front of his face...maybe with a hat on. Take photo. Paint in exam. Hommage to Magritte.

There are no set themes or artists that have to be studied, it's totally up to the teacher what is done on the course.

If I had a student like this, I'd offer the teacher that he could find images of icons, family members, people important to them. Either taken by him or by someone else, as if they're expected to have photos of themselves, then it can't be the photographs that are important as that assumes someone else takes them..
Portraits and having the whole class do the portrait is a great way of bring able to compare and rank order the work for a mock exam, but personally I'd rather set a personal project or a project where they choose from a number of themes for a mock exam, as this more closely mirrors the actual exam, component 2. The final piece only really covers about 2 of the assessment objectives, and drawing is only a tiny part of the course. It's not holistic in the way a proper project is, which is what the grade is based on.

However, with the year we've had, I'm not surprised they're going for something simple.

I'd ask exactly what criteria they're marking on, if it's observational skills, portraiture and working in a timed way, then a photo of anyone would do, can't see how it needs to be him.

Or, photos as a child/baby? Although this can be more difficult for proportion...babies faces are tricky.

Also, look at the artist Vilhelm Hammershoi - he did many paintings showing a figure from behind, eg www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hammershoi-interior-n04106