Covid-19 threat inspires winning work
Three wire necklaces adorned with pendants of soap and gorse have won the top award at this year’s Fieldays No.8 Wire Art Award.
Wear ‘n’ Tear by Aucklandbased sculptor Gina Ferguson has won the $7000 prize, partly inspired by human vulnerability to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Competition judge and acclaimed sculptor Virginia King said she was drawn to the work’s unique concept with ‘‘layers of wonder’’ in it.
‘‘It’s not the most beautiful piece here, but it’s a work I would never have thought of making myself, which gives it a lot more power for me.’’
King said she was taken with the translucence of the soap, the fossilised effect of the gorse inside, and the wire’s risk to ‘‘tear’’ at the skin.
‘‘It has a beautiful quality of transforming gorse into a gem. It’s a wonderful thing to have done to gorse which as a child was what you avoided at all costs playing in the back paddock.’’
In the statement accompanying the piece, Ferguson said she wanted to examine Covid-19 and the need to protect ourselves from harm. When wearing the necklace, the soap dissolves, the thorns are exposed and the skin will be scratched, Ferguson wrote.
‘‘This refers to our ongoing vulnerability through increasing complacency over time as we let our guard down and Covid fatigue sets in.’’
King chose three winners from a shortlist of 24 artworks, using a ‘‘blind’’ judging process that keeps the identities of the artists confidential. Artists from as far afield as Dunedin, Rangiora, Hastings and Waiheke Island were among finalists.
Whittling down the winners was a real ‘‘struggle’’.
‘‘The quality of the works was good, and the thought that’s gone into it was quite special too,’’ King said.
She was particularly impressed that artists used wire to point to global and environmental catastrophe, such as runner-up piece Liquid Life, which points to the peril of rising seas.
Morrinsville artist Heather Olesen received the $1000 prize for that work, which has blue ceramic glass flowing out of a number eight wire column.
And Auckland’s Cherise Thomson won third place for her dune erosion inspired work Dune
Profile No.1, which King said she liked for its movement and texture.
Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation said he was impressed to see the artistry and skill on display.
‘‘To bend wire and get it consistent is not easy, because wire has its own thinking and memory. Especially if it’s been bent before, it will naturally go back to where it’s been.’’
An exhibition of the finalists’ works will run from today to May 24 at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries & Shop.