Yhonnie Scarce has been announced the winner of a major art prize.
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The prestigious Guirguis New Art Prize (GNAP) was presented at the Art Gallery of Ballarat on Friday with a large crowd in attendance.
Judge Simon Maidment, a senior curator from the National Gallery of Victoria, awarded the $20,000 prize to the Melbourne-based artist for her work The More Bones the Better, 2016.
The installation comprises of six medical beakers, tubing and hand blown glass.
“The winning work by Yhonnie Scarce captures the sensitivity to materials she displays throughout her artistic practice,” Mr Maidment said.
Scarce was born in Woomera, South Australia, and belongs to the Kokatha and Nukunu people. She uses her works to reflect the tragedies of Australia’s colonisation.
“The blown and shattered glass elements are a delicate contrast to the shocking and little discussed histories of Aboriginal exploitation and abuse in the name of science in Australia,” Mr Maidment said.
He said the work would “engage and move diverse audiences” with its technical accomplishment, beauty and message.
“Engaging this topic, this work is haunting, in the same way those lived and documented experiences continue to haunt the collective unconscious of this country,” Mr Maidment said.
At the formal opening, curator of the Post Office Gallery Shelley Hinton said it was a privilege to be able to present the exhibition to the local community and for Federation University to be able to acquire the important works.
“The work challenges us ethically and culturally and in a way that pleads for analysis," she said.
Scarce was unable to attend the opening but expressed her gratitude through a speech read out by good friend and fellow South Australian artist Julia Robinson.
The works will be displayed at the city’s two public gallery sites, Federation University’s Post Office Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ballarat.
Art Gallery director Gordon Morrison said the gallery was delighted to be the host of the GNAP prize and exhibition.
“The eclectic range of artistic modes and imagery will delight some and challenge others,” he said.
The finalists were selected via a consultative model, where curators at major public galleries across Australia were invited to recommend artists for shortlisting.
The exhibition includes video, sculpture, painting, photography, textiles, installation and sound.
Finalists included Abdul Abdullah and Jumaadi from New South Wales, Joel Arthur and Peter Vandermark from the ACT, Carly Fischer, Natasha Johns-Messenger, Yhonnie Scarce, Esther Stewart and the art collective DAMP from Victoria, Julia McInerney and Julia Robinson from South Australia, Brian Robinson from Queensland, and Erin Coates and Alistair Rowe from Western Australia.