Vincent Namatjira, Western Aranda people, Northern Territory, born 14 June 1983, Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Northern Territory, Close Contact, 2018, Indulkana, Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia, synthetic polymer paint on plywood, 188.0 x 62.0 x 3.5 cm; Gift of the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation for the Ramsay Art Prize 2019, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Vincent Namatjira/Copyright Agency, photo: Grant Hancock.
Ramsay Art Prize 2019
$100,000 national art prize supporting contemporary Australian artists under 40.
Experience the vision and ingenuity of artists under 40 from across Australia in the second iteration of the Ramsay Art Prize. Held every two years, the Ramsay Art Prize invites submissions from Australian artists under 40 working in any medium.
Works by 23 artists have been selected as finalists and are on display in this major exhibition. The winner of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2019 is Vincent Namatjira with his work Close Contact, 2018.
The winning work of art is a double-sided portrait in acrylic paint on plywood. It represents a new way of working for Vincent Namatjira, and a departure from his wall-based paintings on canvas. The title refers to the concept of ‘first contact’ between Indigenous Australians and Captain James Cook. Namatjira uses the double-sided painting as a strategy to explore the reversal of historical narratives of colonisation. Close Contact presents an unexpected conflation of past and present, coloniser and colonised, and the British invasion/discovery of Australia.
Finalists were chosen by an international judging panel comprising Russell Storer, Deputy Director (Curatorial and Research), National Gallery of Singapore, Richard Lewer, contemporary artist, and Dr Lisa Slade, Assistant Director, Artistic Programs, Art Gallery of South Australia. Through the generosity of the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation, the winning work is acquired into the Gallery’s collection.
People’s Choice Prize Winner Announced
The winner of the $15,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2019 People's Choice Prize supported by Lipman Karas is Pierre Mukeba with his work Ride to Church.
installation view: Ramsay Art Prize 2019 featuring Ride to church by Pierre Mukeba, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, brush pen, synthetic polymer paint and applique on canvas, 320.0 x 424.0 cm; Courtesy the artist and GAGPROJECTS | Greenaway Art Gallery, photo: Saul Steed
Presented by
-
James and Diana Ramsay Foundation
People's Choice Prize
-
Lipman Karas Logo
Liam Benson, Australia, born 1980, Community Participatory Embroidery, Thoughts and Prayers, 2015-2018, Parramatta, New South Wales, glass and acrylic seed beads,
bugle beads, sequins, cotton, tulle, 280.0 x 300.0 cm; Courtesy the artist and Artereal Gallery.
Liam Benson
'Community participatory embroidery, Thoughts and Prayers' is an assemblage of embroidered flowers created by many hands in collaboration with Liam Benson.
Jessica Bradford, Singapore/Australia, born 1987, An Image of a Tiger, 2018, Sydney, pastel and liquid pencil on primed aluminium steel, bisque fired porcelain, Tung-oiled plywood, Tasmanian oak, metal brackets, 106.0 x 480.0 cm (approximately); Courtesy the artist and Galerie pompom, Docqment.
Jessica Bradford
'An Image of a Tiger' calls into question how tradition and culture are transmitted, mutated or lost across time and geographic borders.
Ry David Bradley, Australia, born 1979, CnN5D+YUNpy, 2018, dye cotton tapestry and electroluminescent wire, 190cm x 260cm, Courtesy the artist.
Ry David Bradley
In today’s screen-centric world, a conflation between the private and global occurs. 'CnN5D+YUNpy' considers modern screen technology and the history of mechanical looms.
Eric Bridgeman, Yuri Alaiku people, Papua New Guinea, born 1986, Redcliffe, Queensland, Kopi Kendi (Coffee Candy), Pawa (Power), Coconut, Bolma (Pig Tusk), Kundiawa (Four Corner Town), from the series Shield Paintings (Stap lo fom/ In finest formation), 2018, Kippa-Ring, Queensland, acrylic and twine on ply, 170.0 x 60.0 cm (each); Courtesy the artist and Gallerysmith, photo Ian Hill.
Eric Bridgeman
Shields have been used in times of battle as potent symbols of power to attackers. Eric Bridgeman, however, sees this icon of warfare as a protector of untold stories and undocumented histories.
Lina Buck, Australia, born 1994, In Context (Actions Becoming), 2018, Melbourne, 2 channel video projection, 9 minutes and 47 seconds, Courtesy the artist.
Lina Buck
'In Context (Actions Becoming)', a 2-channel video projection, considers the individual’s approach to space and the factors that shape this experience.
Dale Collier, Wiradjuri people, New South Wales, born 1985, Bega, New South Wales, Using fire to flesh out the fraud, 2018, Ilford, New South Wales, found painting,
projection, charcoal, scorched school desk, (dimensions variable); Courtesy the artist.
Dale Collier
Conceptual artist Dale Collier combines sculptural objects and digital technology to perform contemporary historical critique.
Julia Deville, Australia, born 1982, Mother is my Monarch, 2018, Melbourne, baby giraffe, my last breath, 18ct gold, 18ct white gold, sterling silver, bronze, gold plate, black rhodium plate, Akoya pearls, freshwater pearls, rose cut diamonds 6.05ct, rose cut black diamonds 0.67ct, uncut diamond granules 150ct, setting from ex-husbands engagement ring (18ct white gold, rose cut diamonds 0.33ct) Case made by Kate Rohde: Resin, Perspex, wood, steel; Courtesy the artist, Sophie Gannon Gallery and Jan Murphy Gallery.
Julia deVille
Thirty-five years ago a giraffe died at the Adelaide Zoo. Its body was kept in the freezer of the Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston, until it was acquired by Julia deVille seven years ago.
Kuba Dorabialski, Poland/Australia, born 1979, Seven Revisionists, 2018, Sydney, full HD video with stereo sound, 21 mins 29 secs, Courtesy the artist.
Kuba Dorabialski
'Seven Revisionists' is a 22-minute, full-HD, stereo-sound video installation filmed on the centenary of Russia’s October Revolution of 1917.
Emily Ferretti, Australia, born 1982, Shifting Landscapes, 2018, Brunswick, Victoria, monotype on paper (twenty one panels), 240.0 x 432.0 cm (overall); Courtesy the
artist and Sophie Gannon Gallery, photo: Andrew Curtis.
Emily Ferretti
'Shifting Landscapes' is comprised of twenty-one works on paper, showcasing the artist’s exploration of landscape imaging through the process of monotype printing.
Tom Freeman, Australia, born 1985, Dippers (greenish, grey, pinky, yellow) 2, 2018, Fremantle, Western Australia, synthetic polymer paint, wire, porcelain, marble,
polyurethane, (dimensions variable); Courtesy the artist.
Tom Freeman
'Dippers' began five years ago as a series of small wire shapes. Each day that Tom Freeman visited his studio, he dipped the wire forms into a tub of acrylic paint.
Tarryn Gill, Australia, born 1981, Tricksters, 2018, Perth, EPE foam, LED lights (coded by Steve Berrick), hand-sewn synthetic fabrics, rabbit fur, threads, sequins, glitter, synthetic hair, hand carved wood, nylon and leather gloves, 260.0 x 490.0 x 30.0 cm; Courtesy the artist.
Tarryn Gill
Tricksters presents a swarm of shape-shifting hand stitched figures that morph into self-portraits.
Nathan Hawkes, Australia, born 1980, Daytime shame (With closed eyes / Together they said "milk" and "bread" / Alas the summer's energy wanes quickly) , 2018, Sydney,
dry pigment pastel and graphite on paper (three panels), 220.0 x 150.0 cm (each); Courtesy the artist and Chalk Horse Gallery.
Nathan Hawkes
Using rudimentary mark-making with fingers and hands, masking, sponges and a vacuum cleaner, Nathan Hawkes’ triptych exemplifies his commitment to the exercise of drawing.
Sophia Hewson, Britain/Australia, born 1984, Viewer as patient, 2018, Melbourne, oil on board, leather armchairs, plant, side table, tea, (dimensions variable); Courtesy the
artist and Mars Gallery, photo: Jason Flower.
Sophia Hewson
In her performance piece 'Viewer as patient', artist and psychoanalysis student Sophia Hewson examines the relationship between the viewer, the artist, and the work of art.
Hayley Millar-Baker, Gunditjmara people, Victoria, born 1990, Werribee, Victoria, A Series of Unwarranted Events, 2018, Sunshine, Victoria, inkjet print on paper, 100.0 x
80.0 cm; Courtesy the artist and Vivien Anderson Gallery.
Hayley Millar-Baker
Hayley Millar-Baker’s works draw from her grandfather’s archive, family albums and images of her own moments captured on and off Country.
Viv Miller, Australia, born 1979, Folk, 2018, Melbourne, single channel animation with sound, 4 mins 59 secs, Courtesy the artist, Neon Parc and Gallery 9.
Viv Miller
'Folk' is an animation that incorporates more than 200 hand-drawn pictures in pencil, gouache, text, basic computer graphics and a soundtrack.
Pierre Mukeba, Democratic Republic of Congo/Australia, born 1995, Ride to church, 2018, Adelaide, brush pen, synthetic polymer paint and applique on canvas, 320.0 x 424.0 cm; Courtesy the artist and GAGPROJECTS | Greenaway Art Gallery.
Pierre Mukeba
Without access to art materials, Pierre Mukeba’s first drawings and paintings were made on bed sheets with indelible brush pens and pencils.
Vincent Namatjira, Western Aranda people, Northern Territory, born 14 June 1983, Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Northern Territory, Close Contact, 2018, Indulkana, Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia, synthetic polymer paint on plywood, 188.0 x 62.0 x 3.5 cm; Gift of the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation for the Ramsay Art Prize 2019, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Vincent Namatjira/Copyright Agency, photo: Grant Hancock.
Vincent Namatjira
'Close Contact' represents a new way of working for Vincent Namatjira, and a departure from his wall-based paintings on canvas.
Phuong Ngo, Australia, born 1983, Loss in the Aftermath, 2018, installation view Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria, inkjet prints on paper, perspex, steel, hammocks, mechanical components, (dimensions variable); Courtesy the artist, photo: Ian Hill.
Phuong Ngo
'Loss in the Aftermath' combines photography and installation to explore the loss that is still felt several generations into the Vietnamese diaspora.
Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Australia/Sri Lanka, born 1988, Bronze Deities, 2018, Sydney, bronze, 24 carat gold plated bronze, marble, concrete, perspex, acrylic mirror,
chains and rubber snakes, (dimensions variable); Courtesy the artist and Sullivan + Strumpf.
Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran
'Bronze Deities' channels the scale and authority of temple iconography, brutalist architecture and colonial-era public monuments to envision ‘deities in drag’ or multi-gendered ‘gods’.
Jahnne Pasco-White, Australia, born 1987, Being Here is Everything (What a Pity), 2018, Preston, Victoria, hand-dyed cottons and linens, cement oxide, synthetic polymer paint, oil,
crayon, pencil, various re-cycled fabrics, rice starch, PVA and Clag on plasterboard (five panels), 240.0 x 600.0 cm (overall); Courtesy the artist and Daine Singer
Gallery.
Jahnne Pasco-White
Originally painted in situ onto the walls at Gertrude Contemporary, 'Being Here is Everything (What a Pity)' has been reconfigured as a five piece panel.
Huseyin Sami, Australia, born 1979, Untitled (GWPPW) 2018, 2018, Sydney, synthetic ploymer paint on canvas (two panels), 214.5 x 198.5 cm (each); Courtesy the artist and Sarah Cottier Gallery.
Huseyin Sami
Continuing his exploration of paint, Huseyin Sami investigates the properties of household paint in his studies of colour, form and materiality.
Isadora Vaughan, Australia, born 1987, Canker Sore, 2018, Preston, Victoria, ceramic, sand, steel, crushed stone, silicon, glass, 210.0 x 350.0 x 200.0 cm; Courtesy
the artist and Station Gallery, photo: Andrew Curtis.
Isadora Vaughan
'Canker Sore' is made from steel, ceramic, crushed stone, glass, silicon and sand. The work was produced through months of experimentation.
Sera Waters, Australia, born 1979, Falling Line by Line, 2018, Adelaide, vinyl wallpaper (adhesive backed and removeable), woollen long-stitches, 200.0 x 700.0 cm; Courtesy of the artist and Hugo Michell Gallery, photo: Robert Frith.
Sera Waters
In 'Falling: Line by Line' Sera Waters has transformed an intimately scaled long-stitch into a seven-metre length of photographic wallpaper.
More
-
Exhibition
Ramsay Art Prize 2017
27 May - 27 Aug 2017
Galleries 8, 9, 10, 11 -
Exhibition
Femmage
25 Apr - 1 Sep 2019
Gallery 7
