We chose this work as a winner. The reason is because it's, particularly to me, engaged
me in many different levels. There's a very strong sense of performative component to
the work and it's quite intriguing. It really draws your attention. I really like the, particularly
I really like the whole, how she's playing with materials and how she's playing with
color and aesthetics. There's this sense of really very beautiful, attractive component
to elements, to the materials, I mean to the gloves, the reflections, the end of the fingers
in the gloves, even the little rubies that we call that on her face. So there's this
sense of really very beautiful, beautiful surfaces, beautiful imagery, but at the same
time there's a sense of repulsion. This work was chosen as the winner because it is a very
intriguing poetic, evocative work. It is at once both a beautiful work and also disturbing.
It has the sparkly bits of jewelry which also appear like a kind of disease and it really
makes you want to keep looking at it and keep thinking more and more about this image.
The work also has the feel of almost a religious icon. It's in three panels. It's a triptych.
The hands echo on either side of this figure in the center which is almost like a saint.
We see the gloves with the velvet and the jewelry echoed in a disturbing and strange
way with the green rubber gloves with the fingernails and the little spangly bits. Really
quite fascinating and one that we kept returning to over and over again.
It's been great. It's been great to be invited to judge this competition and like any other
competition it's hard. It's hard to choose who's the winner, who's not the winner.
There is works of all types. There really is almost everything in here so it's quite
a fascinating exhibition. We spent quite a long time deliberating.
In general it's been very exciting. You see some works there that you want to see more
what's going to happen with those works. If there's some great ideas happening there
as well then you want to see them more developed.
I would like to congratulate everyone who put work into the art prize. It's quite a brave
thing to do. It's always interesting to see your work among others and you get a fresh
look on what you do and you see it in a new way. It's quite an educational thing and I
think that's how you should view it. If you didn't win, really don't worry about it.
Everyone really deserves to be congratulated. No, it's exciting. Thank you.
