High win for UCOL design student

8 June 2012

High win for UCOL design student

Whanganui UCOL Computer Graphic Design Honours student Max Deutschle has won the 2012 Fieldays No. 8 Wire National Art Award.

Max’s winning entry The Hollow Tiki is a 3D outline of a tiki constructed in No.8 wire. It stands 1.6 metres tall and is minimal; it is clearly a tiki but it is also mostly transparent—anything behind the sculpture is clearly visible.

“It is about the loss of tradition, the loss of culture,” says Max. “Wire is a medium that in itself is symbolic of colonization, the ownership and splitting of land. This tiki is a shell, empty and hollow. It is symbolic of a loss of value and meaning.”

Judge Jeff Thomson was impressed with the rugged yet precise construction of Max’s entry. "I had a gut reaction when I first viewed this entry and that feeling never went away. It's a very linear piece. It appears as a line drawing in space yet it retains all the qualities of rusted old No.8 wire used on the farm with its twists and bends," he said.

Max says he is delighted to have won the award and will now take up invitations from a number of galleries to create sculptures for them.

Launched in 1997, the annual Fieldays No. 8 Wire National Art Award challenges artists to create a sculpture from No.8 wire and has become renowned for the ingenious and unique entries it attracts. The award is co-ordinated by Waikato Museum and held at ArtsPost. It is sponsored by New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays.

Senior lecturer Jo Giddens says Max’s win is a fantastic example of how graphic design students can benefit from having taking part in collaborative shows such as the Concentrate exhibition held recently at the Edith Gallery. “This show was a great catalyst for crossing disciplines and allowed Max to continue on with that body of work in the making of The Hollow Tiki.”

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