Winner of Deakin’s Contemporary Small Sculpture Award pushes boundaries
Media releaseSydney artist Mikala Dwyer has received the 2014 Deakin University $10,000 Contemporary Small Sculpture Award at a special event at the Burwood campus.
Dwyer took out the honour for her entry Empty Sculpture, which is made from a strong heat modelled plastic, yet is deceptively light and fragile in appearance.
In discussing her work, Dwyer said: "Invisibility in this sculpture is modelled and given form."
"It is empty, full, solid and transparent. Its void is solid with absence. This 'content' is imbued with its outside and projections both spectral and energetic," she said.
"It has volume, weight, gravity but also light and lightness."
In its sixth year, the annual acquisitive award and exhibition is organised by Deakin University's Art Collection and Galleries Unit.
This year, 40 finalists were selected from 282 entries, the largest number of entries since the Award's inception.
Dwyer received her award at this week's opening of an exhibition showcasing the finalists' work, which is open to the public until 13 December.
Finalists and the winner were selected by a judging panel comprising of Jane Clark, Senior Research Curator at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart), David Hurlston, Curator Australian Art at the National Gallery of Victoria and Deakin's Art Collection and Galleries Manager, Leanne Willis.
The judging panel released a joint statement on the selection of the winner. They said they were impressed by the way Dwyer's piece, Empty Sculpture, challenged predictable notions of sculptural form.
"Where sculptors more typically work to reveal a form hidden within their materials, and bring this into being, Dwyer's work operates in reverse and in doing so plays with and contradicts traditional sculptural practices," they said.
"Here the interior is nothing but air; and nothingness is enclosed within the created object.
"The judges considered the work to be well-resolved and noted that while appearing ephemeral it had great presence."
Ms Willis said that from a distance Dwyer's work appeared to be incredibly fragile and likely to collapse at any moment.
"However if you were to touch the work you would find that the skin is deceptively strong, almost like a clear skeleton around an invisible body of air," she said.
A practising artist for over 20 years, Dwyer has become well known for pushing the boundaries of sculpture, installation and performance art.
Each sculpture entered in the Award can be no bigger than 70 cm in size. The winning artist is awarded $10,000 and the award winning sculpture becomes part of the Deakin University Art Collection.
Previous winners have included:
- 2013 – Michael Sibel for Primitive Dance
- 2012 – Lisa Roet, for Spider Monkey
- 2011 - Stephen Bird, for Boxers.
- 2010 - Robert Hague for Trojan Hammer (200%)
- 2009 -Stephen Benwell for Statue, Grey-Pink Man
Exhibition Dates:
Wednesday 29 October until Saturday 13 December 2014
Where:
Deakin University Art Gallery, building FA, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood.
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Friday 10am – 4 pm, Saturday 1 pm – 5 pm
Closed Public Holidays including Melbourne Cup Day