The response from artists to Art Edit‘s Self-Represented Artist Award was fantastic, the quality of the work and talent of the participating artists remarkable, and we left it to our panel of judges to make the final call.
We’re delighted to present the work of the winner of the second Art Edit Self-Represented Artist Award, Joanne Napangardi Wheeler, with Waterhole inside Palm Valley, 2021, an enchanting vision of ecological harmony within her Mparntwe/Alice Springs community. Read about Wheeler’s work and the artist here.
The judges also highly commended artists Ida Sophia for her performance work, Regret, 2021, Liam Nunan for his painting Tommy Murphy, 2021, Betty Braedon for her grass sculpture Tjulpu (bird), 2021 and Ian Thomas for his work chandelier (from human finery), 2021.
And finally, special commendation was also awarded to the following artists: Alicia King, Sebastian Riffo Montenegro, Silvi Glattauer, Bianca Yrure, Michelle Bellamy, Monika Viktoria Diak, Ed Bechervaise, Claire Mooney, Elizabeth Lewis and Kirsten Sivyer.
Images above of the judges from left: Jono Fleming – interior designer and stylist, Namila Benson – radio broadcaster, podcaster and television presenter at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Edward Woodley – Director, China Heights Gallery & Studios, Sydney and Thea Anamara Perkins – artist, represented by N.Smith Gallery, Sydney.
IDA SOPHIA – HIGHLY COMMENDED
“Regret is a reminder that when the solitary process of grief is shared with others, we can shed the heaviness,” commented judge Namila Benson of Ida Sophia’s performance piece Regret. Performed over 28 days for six hours each day, the piece addressed Sophia’s sense of regret about having been absent from her father’s side in his final month of life. The slow decomposition of an installation of flowers was devised to mirror the experience of watching disease overtake her father’s body. Affirming the transformative power of communal gestures, Sophia invited audiences to partake through contributing their own regrets, recorded on 1,000 weighted pieces of plaster serving as writing tablets that were physically attached to the artist. Carrying the symbolic weight of more than 500 participants’ regret(s), Sophia ritualistically cast off all burden on the final day, liberating both herself and each participant through an act of collective catharsis.
Left: Ida Sophia, Regret, 2021. Performance work. Photo: Thomas McCammon. Courtesy: the artist.
LIAM NUNAN- HIGHLY COMMENDED
Liam Nunan’s portrait Tommy Murphy is a testament to the strength we can draw from remembering those we’ve shared a profound connection with. The painting takes Australian creative and vocal advocate for the 2017 marriage equality campaign, Tommy Murphy, as its subject. Tommy and fiancé Dane had been engaged for six years, before, four months after the plebiscite, Dane unexpectedly passed away. Over the next two years, Tommy rebuilt their home to Dane’s meticulous design specifications. “There is a beauty in Tommy living on, protected by the global chaos, in the home dreamed up by Dane,” said the artist. Nunan’s meditation on the relationship between love, grief, and the places they inhabit struck a chord with the judges. “The heartbreaking and poignant story of loss and reflection is captured in each stroke of Liam’s skilful portrait – a powerful piece that carries the weight of lost love and contemplation,” said Jono Fleming.
Right: Liam Nunan, Tommy Murphy, 2021. Oil on canvas, 123 x 101cm. Courtesy: the artist.
BETTY BRAEDON – HIGHLY COMMENDED
Tjulpu (bird) by Betty Braedon embodies the artist’s powerful ties to Country, family, and community. Working out of Tjanpi Art Centre alongside her mother and sisters, Braedon has developed her own unique style and approach to creating tjanpi (grass) birds. Seeking to capture the distinctive features and movements of different local species, her sculptures are fashioned from tjanpi collected on Country. “What makes it more interesting is our knowledge of these native plants – some are edible and some are not, so we choose grasses that are useful for art and sculpture,” explains the artist. Sharing ideas, complementing each other’s work, or pointing out mistakes, the group of artists maintain an important legacy: “it’s something positive that we can share with our children.” Judge Namila Benson notes, “there’s a lovely, elegant flow of movement to this bird/tjulpu. In terms of sustainability and reflecting Country, what a wonderful use of local plants and materials in Betty’s practice.”
Left: Betty Braedon, Tjulpu (bird), 2021. Grass sculpture, 60 x 18 x 64cm. Courtesy: the artist and Tjanpi desert weavers, Pukatja.
IAN THOMAS – HIGHLY COMMENDED
A tribute to his childhood love of sparkle, glamour and queer identity, Ian Thomas’ chandelier (from human finery) is an ode to rediscovering a sense of self. “It was inspired by memories of being a queer kid and the guilty pleasures of playing with my mother’s jewellery box,” Thomas says. Made from hundreds of crystals sourced from deconstructed chandeliers, the work is assembled on wire on board with a linen backing. “I like how they interconnect in a form that mirrors a patchwork quilt,” he says. “This connection of formerly disconnected elements removes them from their previous role and creates a new panorama of light, reflection, and celebration.” The judges were struck by Thomas’ playful shirking of societal expectations and of honouring one’s own identity. “The chandelier represents an antiquated world, and in turn has been lovingly mocked, and tactfully re-envisioned as a decorative matrix,” commented judge Edward Woodley. “The oversized 200 x 100cm linen board creates an impressive monument to the rebirth of self.”
Right: Ian Thomas, chandelier (from human finery), 2021. Glass and wire on linen on board, 200 x 100cm. Courtesy: the artist.
