IA3 Project, inquiry phase 3, in QCE Visual Art Unit 4
“Produce a Project for inquiry phase 3 that resolves a coherent body of work and presents it with a supporting response”
IA3 is the Project for inquiry phase 3, indicatively around 30 percent of the result (confirm against the current syllabus). It resolves the body of work: one focus carried across two concepts into a coherent set of artworks that synthesise existing and new knowledge. It applies Unit 4 innovation to reach an alternate resolution and presents the work with a supporting response that frames the inquiry. IA3 is judged on resolution, coherence and synthesis, not on quantity.
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What this dot point is asking
IA3 is the Project for inquiry phase 3, the resolved body of work and the largest internal assessment. This dot point asks you to understand what the instrument requires: consolidating the whole inquiry, applying Unit 4 innovation, and presenting a coherent body of work with its supporting response. It is the destination the first two instruments were building toward.
The answer
The phase 3 Project is the resolution of the whole inquiry. It pulls together everything from IA1 and IA2, adds the Unit 4 innovation, and presents a finished, coherent body of work that answers the sustained inquiry question.
What IA3 requires
The Project requires a resolved body of work: a coherent set of related artworks developed from the single focus, carried across two concepts, that synthesise existing knowledge (from research) with new knowledge (from your own making). It also requires a supporting response that frames the inquiry for the audience. The instrument is the consolidation of the develop, research, reflect and resolve phases into one communicative whole.
Consolidating the inquiry
By IA3 the inquiry is complete, so the Project consolidates rather than starts. The focus established in IA1 and developed through IA2 reaches its resolution here, now extended across the second concept. Consolidation means the body of work reads as one sustained inquiry, with the earlier phases visible as the foundation the resolution stands on. The work should answer the same question it began with, deepened rather than abandoned.
The role of Unit 4 innovation
Unit 4 is Art as alternate, so IA3 is where you apply new knowledge, skills or processes to reach an alternate, enriched resolution. The innovation is not bolted on; it is synthesised into the inquiry, pushing the focus further than the first concept could. Meaningful innovation deepens the answer to the inquiry question, distinguishing a resolved body of work from a merely finished one.
The supporting response
The Project is presented with a supporting response (such as an artist statement) that frames the inquiry as a whole. It names the focus and inquiry question, identifies key influences, and explains how the body of work resolves the inquiry. The supporting response frames the set; it does not caption each piece. A strong one makes the connection between question and work explicit so the audience reads the body of work as intended.
Coherence and resolution
IA3 is judged heavily on coherence: the conceptual focus, the visual language and the material choices all pointing the same way across the set. Resolution is reached when the body of work communicates its considered response without excuses. A polished but incoherent collection resolves less strongly than a unified set that takes a defensible risk in service of the inquiry.
Presenting evidence
The Project presents the resolved artworks and the supporting response, with the body of work standing as the culmination of evidence built across all three phases. The presentation should let an audience read the inquiry as one argument, from focus through the two concepts to resolution, with the innovation visibly deepening the answer.
Step 1: Consolidate the inquiry
You gather the focus from IA1 and the developed first concept from IA2, the unreliable memory of a lost domestic threshold, ready to resolve it across the second concept.
Step 2: Apply and synthesise the innovation
You introduce the Unit 4 innovation, a multi-panel work whose surfaces are built to degrade, and synthesise it with the researched layering technique so it deepens the answer rather than sitting bolted on.
Step 3: Build coherence across the set
You hold a consistent palette, a repeated doorway motif and a shared erosion process across the panels, so the body of work reads as one argument about loss rather than a collection of pieces.
Step 4: Frame with a supporting response
You write a supporting response that names the focus, the inquiry question and the key influence, and explains how the degrading surfaces perform memory's unreliability. It frames the whole set; it does not caption each panel. The Project now resolves on coherence, synthesis and a deepened answer, not on quantity.
IA3 is judged on resolution, coherence and synthesis, not quantity. The Unit 4 innovation must be synthesised into the inquiry to deepen the answer, and the supporting response frames the whole body of work rather than captioning individual pieces.
- Starting a new idea
- IA3 consolidates the inquiry from IA1 and IA2. It resolves the existing focus rather than beginning afresh.
- Bolting on innovation
- Unit 4 innovation must be synthesised to deepen the inquiry, not added as a novelty.
- Captioning each work in the statement
- The supporting response frames the whole inquiry, not each individual piece.
- Equating resolution with polish
- A coherent set that takes a considered risk resolves more strongly than a polished but disconnected collection.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of QCAA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
PracticeEvaluate how artists manipulate media and composition to construct a narrative. Justify your viewpoint by comparing two artworks from the stimulus book.Show worked answer →
The external examination is an extended response of 800 to 1000 words on two unseen stimulus artworks, marked against six criteria for 45 marks. The resolving and synthesising skills the Project demands are the same judgement the exam tests, reading how choices cohere into meaning.
Analysing and interpreting (7 + 7 = 14 marks) leads: for each work, give detailed literal and non-literal meaning and explain how the manipulation of media and composition constructs a narrative, reading the work as a resolved, coherent whole.
Implementing decoding skills (6) names a range of elements and principles; Evaluating (5) appraises the significance of the differences; Justifying (10) supports a viewpoint with evidence; Realising a response (5) closes insightfully. The Project teaches you to read a set as one argument, which is exactly how you read each unseen work in the exam.
PracticeEvaluate how contemporary self-portraits communicate the nature of identity and the factors that influence one's sense of self. Justify your viewpoint by comparing two artworks from the stimulus book.Show worked answer →
A 45-mark extended response (800 to 1000 words on two unseen self-portraits). Resolving your own body of work around a sustained focus prepares you to read how each artist resolves a coherent statement about identity.
Analysing and interpreting (7 + 7 = 14 marks) reads each portrait for literal and non-literal meaning, naming the factors that shape the self presented. Implementing decoding skills (6) names elements and principles; Evaluating (5) appraises significance; Justifying (10) supports a viewpoint with evidence; Realising a response (5) concludes insightfully. The coherence you build into IA3, every choice serving one inquiry, is what you look for when judging a resolved artwork.