Artistic ambiguity has certainly worked for 18 year old Jim Gurr, whose good and evil themed artwork has twisted its way into Top Arts VCE 2008 exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square.

Gurr was one of 61 students whose VCE Art and Studio Art work was selected by the National Gallery of Victoria for its 15th annual exhibition.

The ex- University High School student said that his displayed photos and short film were inspired by the silent German Expressionist films of the 1920s.

“The Golden Era of Hollywood has always been attractive to me,” Gurr said.

“The 15 minute movie I made, Kunst, is about a scientist who leaves his world to try and balance good and evil in the world he left behind by creating a machine.

“It’s meant to be ambiguous and I have tried to blur the line between good and evil, so his actions can’t be deemed as either. It’s dark,” he said.

Gurr extended the theme of 1920s melodrama and exaggeration to create his five photographs, two of which were displayed in the exhibition.

“I got people to go into costume and makeup so that I could recreate them with my own little twist.

One was made to look like actress Greta Garbo, and another like David Attenborough with all of them having something about them that dictated whether they are good or evil. There’s something about the look in their eyes.”

Gurr, who is currently studying environment at Melbourne University said that he has been interested in film making since he saw the movie, Sleepy Hollow in grade three.

“But it has only been the last three or four years that I have really knuckled down and done something about it,” he added.

“I am now in the process of making another film; a 1920s murder mystery about a theatre troupe set in Melbourne.”

Mr. Gurr explains that he would like to pursue a career in film  but that he doesn’t want to go to a film school.

“The only way we can get into the industry is to go out there and do it ourselves. My Environment degree is a back up but we’ll see what happen in future”.

Top Arts VCE 2008 will be on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Federation Square from March 25 to June 14, 2009. Admission is free.