Sophomore Artist Jimmy Spencer's Ceiling Installation Stuns Art World

If you’ve looked up from your phone even once recently during passing time at NHS, you’ve likely seen examples of sophomore Jimmy Spencer’s art installation “Stains.” Created through a meticulous process that involves both watercolors and black mold, Spencer’s pieces are scattered throughout the high school and involved him working on both ladders and scaffolding. 

“It was a bit of a process,” he admitted during a recent interview. “At times I felt like I had a sense of what painting the Sistine Chapel must have been like for Michaelangelo.”

Explaining that his installation is meant to “convey the existential struggle most teenagers experience during their high school years,” Spencer said that the amorphous nature of the paintings “also reflects the struggle many students go through with body image. So, yeah,” he concluded, “it’s about a lot of stuff.”

Principal Sicotte, who noted that Spencer’s new works often seemed inspired by rainy weather, is a fan of the installation, and observed that he “sees the struggle for connection, for emotional partnership” that the high school strives to provide for students. 

Based on this art project, Spencer recently signed a letter of intent with the Rhode Island School of Design.