The 2024 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize finalists have been announced. From a pool of 751 entries, fifty-nine works were selected by a judging panel comprising Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Museum of Old and New Art, Jarrod Rawlins, Executive Director of ArtsProject Australia, Liz Nowell, and Art Gallery of New South Wales Curator, First Nations Art, Erin Vink.
Spanning a variety of mediums, including clay, silk, porcelain, glass, ceramic, wood, silicone and more, these works delve into themes of dystopian futures, authoritarianism and the aesthetics of power, bodily memory, disability pride, folklore, fantasy, kin, cultural inheritance, and the intersection of tradition and modernity. Using diverse mediums to provoke thought and engage with contemporary issues and experiences, this year’s works reflect personal and collective narratives, materiality, and the human condition.
“Each year, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize boasts a cornucopia of creative approaches to materiality and form whilst capturing the pulse of contemporary issues, interests and trends,” said Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf Director, Pippa Mott. “Glass is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, emerging as a counterpart to ceramic; found materials complement industrial and artisanal craftsmanship; and a swell of absurdity co-exists with analytical and formalist approaches. In these troubled times, a number of works evoke protection – both structural and spiritual – whilst others embody community, culture, or nostalgia.”
Reflecting on the selection process this year and the breadth of finalists selected, Vink stated: “For this year’s Small Sculpture Prize, we noticed that the artistic cohort shared interests in the experimentation of mediums; there were nods to retro futuristic technology and aesthetics, and a shared consciousness around the perilous state of the world and what it means to make sculpture right now. There were also energetic, jovial works that reflect the joy of making.”
The finalist exhibition will be on view at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, Double Bay NSW 2028, from 13 September to 20 October 2024, with the $25,000 winning sculpture will be announced at the opening ceremony on 12 September. All sculptures will be on sale to the public. The exhibition will also be supported by a program of artist talks and workshops.
Chantal Fraser, Fantômas Silver, 2023, welding helmet, adhesive, acrylic, rhinestones, metallic glass shards, 30 × 26 × 21.5cm
Select highlights include:
Nathan Beard’s Tropical Flesh (vii), 2023 explores the artist’s diasporic identity through silicone casts of Thai fruits, including durian husks and bananas, alongside his aunt’s hands. Reflecting on temporal dislocation and family connection, the work pointedly contrasts this visibly aged figurative element alongside the rot and the decay of fruits which act as reliable markers of seasonal time within their tropical climates.
Chantal Fraser’s Fantômas Silver, 2023 transforms a welder’s helmet with rhinestones, questioning power aesthetics and the performative nature of safety and authority. A Brisbane-based Sāmoan artist, Fraser’s interdisciplinary works span moving image and sculpture, addressing materiality and identity.
Hannah Gartside’s #19 from Bunnies in Love Lust and Longing, 2024 repurposes second-hand gloves into bunny sculptures, reflecting personal and communal experiences. A Melbourne-based artist, whose work has previously been exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria and Institute of Modern Art, Gartside’s fabric sculptures convey emotions of longing and tenderness.
Grace Hasu Dlabik’s IVOSA & GOAVA, 2024 comprises a series of vessels created with traditional firing methods and symbolising her great grandmothers from Papua New Guinea, as well as the womb and notions of child bearing and the embodiment of life. An interdisciplinary artist, and founder of global creative collective BE and creative agency BE. ONE, Dlabik’s works explore cultural heritage and community care.
Grace Lee, Limestone Cupboard for a Boiled Egg, 2023, limestone, egg, 15 × 16 × 27cm
Grace Lee’s Limestone Cupboard for a Boiled Egg, 2023 venerates the ordinary boiled egg within a chiselled stone cupboard – the cupboard’s hard, surface and agelessness bringing out the beauty of the soft and ephemeral boiled egg. Lee’s practice emphasises the beauty in everyday moments, creating bespoke furniture and handcrafted objects to foster social interactions.
Sara Morawetz’s To Measure the Stars, 2023 from Brass Constellation II uses brass folding rulers to create fictional constellations, exploring the arbitrariness of cosmic framing. A conceptually driven artist, Morawetz collaborates with institutions like MIT and NASA, and her internationally exhibited works examine the processes of scientific action.
James Nguyen’s Substitute//Substrate, 2024 addresses themes of cultural erasure by replicating Vietnamese heritage bowls and vases using museum wax. A Melbourne-based Vietnam-born artist, Nguyen’s decolonial works have been globally exhibited and focus on the reclaiming of Vietnamese identity, and recognition of Vietnamese ceramic traditions.
Kien Situ’s Shanshui (Column), 2022 combines Chinese Mo ink and gypsum cement, and mixes elements of architectural practice with geological topography. With the exterior column encompassing a shadowy and cavernous central space, this work explores the pursuit of the void and the invisible material between tangible forms. An Australian multidisciplinary artist, Situ’s works span architecture and sculpture, addressing themes of matter and time.
