Finalists announced for Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award
DATE 11 AUGUST 2008
Thirty finalists have been selected from amongst 253 entries for the Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award 2008.
Now in its eighth year, the annual Award is renowned for the challenging and often controversial entries it attracts.
Natasha Conland, judge of the Award and Curator of Contemporary Art at Auckland Art Gallery, said a common theme amongst
this year’s artworks has been a sense of intrigue and inquisitiveness.
“In selecting the finalists I have focused on works that are instilled with the qualities of curiosity. Sometimes
provocative, sometimes subtle, these are objects and images which invite speculation, not only as to their physical and
conceptual natures but also to their intention. In these terms they may be at once familiar and inviting while equally
disruptive for our senses,” she says.
Waikato Museum Director Kate Vusoniwailala said the Museum is proud of its association with the annual event, which
successfully sparks debate about what is fresh and innovative in art.
“The city’s new Creativity and Identity Strategy challenges us to be ‘bold and imaginative’ and to ‘foster creativity
and imagination’. This exhibition meets the challenge exceptionally well, providing a unique space for experiencing
contemporary art and culture, whilst pushing at the boundaries of innovation, creativity and expression.
“We are proud to host an exhibition that encourages artistic innovation and celebrates ‘art at the edge’,” she says.
The finalists’ work will be exhibited at Waikato Museum from 23 August until 30 November. Of this year’s finalists,
three (Lisa Benson, Yaniv Jansen and Tony Nicholls) are Hamilton artists.
Finalists selected for Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award
Alison Fausett, Living at home (C-type digital print mounted on aluminium)
Andrea Gardner, Earthly delight (mixed media)
Andy Palmer, Some came on time, some took a while (C-type photographic print)
Bridget Inder, Outside patterns (ink and acrylic on paper)
Bruce Connew, Censored #1 #2 #3 (photographic prints)
Catherine Fookes, Tiara (triptych)
Chiara Corbelletto, An ocean of silence glides endlessly from an unknown beginning (mixed media sculpture)
Fiona Amundsen, Miracle on the Han River (chromira photographic prints)
Frances Hansen, This place (acrylic on placemats)
Helen Calder, Paused painting, four times (acrylic on plywood)
Jennifer Mason, Resuscitation Anne (photographic print)
Jennifer Mason, Spa (photographic print)
Keila Martin, Industrial pastures (fluoro card, clay, hard card, contact plastic)
Lauren Winstone and Nick Spratt, Models for a museum signage, notice and information system (laser-cut, paper, assorted
printed material, written interviews, photographs)
Leila Goddard, Jump, jump up and jump down (watercolour and ink on paper)
Leila Goddard, Tug-o-War (watercolour and ink on paper)
Lisa Benson, Twenty minute spin (DVD)
Marcus Capes, Six of one and half a dozen of the other (enamel and graphite on MDF)
Marcus Williams and Susan Jowsey, The Limbic (photograph and small video monitor with headphones)
Mark Purdom, Mr Whitaker (digital photographic print)
Matt Ellwood, A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (charcoal on paper)
Miranda Parkes, Hourglass (acrylic on canvas)
Patrick Lundberg, Untitled (found paint and plasterboard)
Richard Maloy, Clay heads (colour photographs)
Sam Rountree Williams, Untitled (oil on canvas)
Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Hill end (stop animation digital media)
Steve Carr, Apples and oranges (spun cast alloy, gesso, acrylic paint)
Tony Nicholls, Understandan (kinetic sculpture: audio, MDF, acrylic, polystyrene)
Yaniv Janson, Autumn reflections (acrylic on canvas)
Young Sun Han, Untitled (after Wilhelm von Gloeden) (chromira print of hand painted and collaged appropriated image)
ENDS