If you are a studio art student, your final exam does not necessarily resemble a traditional test. More likely, it’s a painting, film, photograph or even a multi-hued flag, hand-dyed and sewn.

Fourth-year studio art students at the University of Virginia have spent all year carefully planning and creating their thesis projects, which were displayed in a four-week Ruffin Hall exhibition concluding last week.

Some students used film, sound and animation to bring their art to life. Others who are painters, photographers, printmakers or sculptors used their chosen medium to share messages that are important to them. Some offered pleas for sustainability, examined the virtues and vices of pop culture or delved into psychology and history. Others used their art to explore and share their own culture and heritage.

UVA Today met with eight of these student-artists at the end of the semester. Take a look at their final projects below.