AN ASPIRING artist will have her work displayed in spectacular fashion when it appears on six billboards around the country.
When Reigate Grammar School student Connie Adams entered the "Who Are You?" contest, run by the Arts University Bournemouth, she did not know what to expect.
But now the 17-year-old's work will go public after it was selected as one of the 15 winners in a public vote.
The university received thousands of competition entries from around the world which a panel of six judges whittled down to 50.
The finalists' entries were then put to a public vote online and 15 winners were chosen to be displayed on billboards around Europe. Answering the question posed by the university, Connie submitted a large print of Paris which she created using ink and different fabrics.
She chose Paris because she had recently visited the city on holiday.
Connie explained: "I wanted to bring across the fact that I like discovering different cultures.
"I like to travel to different places and cities can be very different all across the world, so this was my way of presenting that idea. I like finding out about people and the fabrics were to represent different cultures."
Connie's work will be up on one board outside Tesco at Gatwick, as well as two in Bournemouth, one in Southampton, one in Worthing and one in Havant in Hampshire.
She said: "It was very exciting seeing how many times people shared the pictures on Facebook. It was fantastic."
She added: "I am really excited, I didn't expect anything from the competition but I thought it would be a good opportunity. I am looking forward to seeing the work up on the billboards – it will give me more confidence in my work."
The Reigate youngster, whose mother is an artist, is hoping to take a foundation art course after finishing her A2 exams at the Reigate Road school this summer. She is sitting her final art exam this week.
