I made this artwork a while ago and had to bring it up again to depict the fear of exams on students.
What made me illustrate this?
Before I explain why exams are harmful to someone's creative potential , I want to let you know that the focus of academic institutions on exams for grades is ridiculous . The way they implement exams to determine the final grades of students on that day of exam on a single sheet of paper, isn't it ridiculous on how that single sheet of paper has to determine the person's future , his job , his skills and everything?
Society is a good thing but a society which puts limits on it's community isn't good. That's what exams do , they limit someone's capability and he/she mayn't be able to find out what he excels in . No one knows how much time he/she has spent just to do well in exams only to release he/she has missed so much in life . That is what happened to me .
I am from an Asian country and pressure to do well in studies is pretty common in an Asian community. I belong to one of them , I did extremely well in exams under the pressure of my parents in high school . But as I started growing older and older , my classmates were having fun even with mediocre grades but I with high grade still struggled to smile . My focus on what I wanted to do was completely off due to fear of failing in exams.
That's when I looked up to the character named Joker in a positive way , believe me I though he was a villain but he is actually a hero fighting against the evil system the society has enforced. There is a part of Joker where he steals a huge amount of money and then lights it all in fire , and quotes "Everything Burns".
That really hit me hard , in this limited span of life that I have , I am burning my time on fulfilling the system of society ! Why am I not spending time on myself ? explore myself ? find what I am good at?
This is why I illustrated the character joker burning a certificate of excellent grade , which really highlights how overrated the systems that control everything using exams .
It'd be good if they include projects , some activity that students can explore and find what they are good at , learning is a part of process , but you cant make an exam the final part of their learning process ! I do believe exams are helpful but they should not make it the final part of the grade or the major part of the grade. It should rather depend upon how deep and what field did the student really found himself/herself talent on .
I am still exploring myself to find my true colors , I believe focused too much on exams that I missed out on life . So I have to tell everybody , go do whatever you want to do ! Explore ! Indulge ! Exams are just a tiny part of life and you shouldn't make it your integral part of life !!