Essays

January 5, 2018

2016 WATERHOUSE NATURAL SCIENCE PRIZE "SHELLACKED" - FINALIST

SHELLACKEDIn her poem, “Letter”, Judith Wright asks, Why try to give what can never be given- safety, a green world? It’s mined, the trip-wire’s waiting. My work “Shellacked” alludes to many facets of ecology, not least the profound effect that the introduction of man has had on the natural world. The tortoise shells depicted in the work represent the many meanings that the word “shell” has in the English speaking world. The text running through the work, in tandem with the opaque stitching lines, describes the meaning of the word “shell” ranging from protective coating to shell-shock. The grenade represents the “trip-wire” referred to in Wright’s poem. The pin, with red chosen as the pin colour, is still intact but the threat is ominous. Fiona Rafferty – “Reminiscence” – Spring Creek Station – Narrabri – October 2015

The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize was launched in 2002 and commemorates the birth of the South Australian Museum’s first curator, Frederick George Waterhouse. The prize is an opportunity for artists to investigate the world around them, and present their perspectives on natural science. It encourages artists to make a statement about the scientific issues facing our planet, and offers a valuable platform for them to contribute to the environmental debate. Over the years the competition has become a much loved fixture on the arts calendar, allowing artists and audiences to explore natural science through a range of creative outlets. The Waterhouse Prize is held bi-annually at the South Australian Museum.

www.waterhouse.samuseum.sa.gov.au

Shellacked was selected as a finalist in the Emerging Artist Category.

2016 ADELAIDE PERRY DRAWING PRIZE "SALINITY" FINALIST

SALINITY - Finalist in the 2016 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize I visited Lake Cooloongup, situated south of Perth, many times during my final year of study. The name Cooloongup is derived from the word Koolangka which is the Aboriginal, Nyoongar (Draper, 1997) word, meaning children. Lake Cooloongup holds special Dreaming significance as a place where the Sea Waugal laid her eggs.(Walley, pers.comm,.2002) Lake Cooloongup is shallow and water in the lake is saline. When dry, the stark, white landscape stretches across the plain and reflects the whiteness of the salt back to you. It is superficially a place of beauty. It is also a place where signage warns us to “take care – tortoises crossing”. There were hundreds of tortoise shells discovered during my many visits to the lake, but they were all hollow, a stark reminder of the fragility of the environment and the effects of salinity on living organisms. This lake, once a place of fertility, is now a barren wasteland. In “Salinity” the empty tortoise shell dominates the picture plane. It is an indicator that the biophilia of the region is unhealthy and the red stitching line represents the tenuous thread that connects us all. Fiona Rafferty – “Reminiscence” – (Ethel Creek, WA – October 2015)

"Salinity" has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize for 2016.

The Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing is a $25,000 acquisitive art award among the most significant of its kind in the country. Inaugurated in 2006, the Prize is generously supported by the Parents and Friends’ Association of PLC Sydney. Named in honour of respected painter, printmaker and draughtswoman, Miss Adelaide Elizabeth Perry who taught Art at PLC Sydney from 1930 to 1962, the Prize attracts submissions from around the country.

ADELAIDE PERRY PRIZE FOR DRAWING 2016 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED In its eleventh year, PLC Sydney’s Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing received a record amount of entries. Judge for 2016, Independent curator and writer Ms Julie Ewington visited the Gallery in January to select the short-list of this year’s finalists from over 600 entries.

In a statement about the process Ms Ewington wrote:

"Drawing, in all its various forms, is one of the foundations of working as an artist. But more than a skill, today drawing is the home of the unexpected, and the provisional: it is a sprawling set of working methods, as well as a destination. In 1991 the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, now a Nobel-prize winning novelist but once an aspiring artist, evoked something of the immediacy and excitement of drawing when he wrote 'My mind was at the tip of my pen, acting before I could think; at the same time it could survey what I had already done.' In selecting just a fraction of the over 600 entries for the 2016 Adelaide Perry finalists' exhibition, I wanted to reveal some of the many different ways that contemporary artists use drawing to explore their world, and the life of the imagination. Works in the exhibition are variously rough or refined, fully finished or working studies; some are still and precise, others frenzied with movement or colour and, in one case, the drawing is animated. Taken together, they show that drawing is alive and well in Australia today. Congratulations to this year’s finalists."

Prior to the finalists’ exhibition event, Ms Ewington returns to Adelaide Perry Gallery to decide upon the winner of the $25,000 acquisitive award.

Ms Ewington will announce this year’s winner at the Gallery during the official opening for the Adelaide Perry Prize Exhibition of Finalists 2016, Friday 26 February at 7 pm. All welcome.

https://www.plc.nsw.edu.au/microsites/adelaide-perry-gallery/adelaide-perry-prize-for-drawing

The Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing continues 27 February – March 24, 8.30 am – 4 pm weekdays and 11 am – 4 pm Saturdays. At the close of the exhibition a people’s choice award of $2,000 will be awarded to the finalist’s work voted favourite by Gallery visitors. Voting slips are available at the Gallery.