Як дев'ятикласники оживили горор і готику?

Horror and Gothic: 9th Graders Explore the Aesthetics of Fear

In their IMLa (Integrated World Literature & Art) classes, our 9th graders delved into the world of 20th-century genre literature and art.

They explored the origins of Gothic and Horror, reading the works of Edgar Allan Poe, excerpts from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and discovering Ukrainian authors alongside contemporary genre examples. Together, they tackled a fascinating question: "Why do we love to be afraid?" and examined the fears lurking in the depths of our subconscious.

This creative exploration culminated in the "Horror and Gothic" exhibition, where students brought their interpretations to life through various art forms:

• Visualizing Fears: From mystical portraits to drawings depicting specific phobias—such as the fear of the deep (thalassophobia), bees, external control, and occasionally, even the "fear of teachers."

• Literary Interpretations: Highlights included a portrait of Edgar Allan Poe depicted as the protagonist of The Tell-Tale Heart, illustrations for Nata Hrytsenko's story Zoya, a depiction of an academic-exhausted student in the style of Dorian Gray, and a haunting rendering of the house from The Fall of the House of Usher.

• Multimedia Projects: Creativity went beyond the canvas. Students wrote original stories, performed musical compositions, developed a Telegram bot featuring Gothic characters, and even produced poetry translations. And, undoubtedly, the "centerpiece" of the exposition was… a handcrafted electric chair!

The exhibition was a true immersion into the dark aesthetics of horror and gothic, challenging everyone to reflect on the nature of fear and its artistic expression.