ANNOUNCING THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD FINALISTS
Veronica by Nancy Paulangelo
"A portrait of Veronica, who was at the time of the picture, celebrating her 34th birthday. The static pose of the subject and the dark background is in deep contrast with what a usual festive celebration should be. The image wants to depict her turbulent soul and show her worries for the future." We are pleased to announce that this year’s People’s Choice Award is now closed for voting and the 4 finalists in each category have now been selected.
We hope that this award enhances the democratic nature of the Signature Art Prize, gives the clients and admirers of the entrants a chance to support them, and offers the artists a great opportunity to promote themselves and their work.
A secret ballot on the night of the Gala will decide an overall winner.
Portrait Of Hope: Portrait Of Elsa by Elsa Akesson
"A very precious painting. A portrait of a little girl from a village in the south of Madagascar named Elsa. Her Father named her Elsa after me, in hope for a bright future for her and her family and of getting them out of poverty.
A work to help raise funds for Elsa and her village."
Boundaries by Adonia Hirst
"Boundaries is an exploration of the soft sculpture through photography, the understanding of touch, texture and volume of the sculpture is made sense of through the presence of a body. Boundaries captures the intimate moment of exploration, interaction and movement between the body and sculpture, as well as the close relationship between performer and photographer. The title reflects on the boundaries formed in relationships, whilst considering my interest in understanding how soft sculpture can invoke a personal and intimate space for connection."
Discarded 20, Constellation 1 by Margo Van Rooyen
"Much of my work shows my preoccupation with waste production. My work has always been simplistic and minimal, only containing what is necessary, but this has now upgraded to my fear of producing more waste that will fill up landfills and strangle our wildlife and oceans.
The photolithographic plates used for Discarded were destined for the trash. Incidentally lithography is one of the mediums I am most fond of. I found that the plates were the perfect material to recreate my lithographs in three dimensional form without creating more waste. Each plate is bent and detailed by hand and the end sculpture shown is made of 20 individual pieces. The work is put together on site and it would be a great challenge to recreate it in the same form again. The site specific nature of the work is so important and plays a key role in the energy of the work. It has been shown in two other exhibitions (besides that of the one in the images) in varying number of plates (4 and 8); each time drawing off the space and surrounding area. The work speaks of the deep abyss and void that is sucking the world away."
