Now in its 47th year, the ‘Gold Coast Art Prize‘ is one of the longest running acquisitive art prizes in Australia. Providing an opportunity to showcase excellent contemporary art practice from across the nation, it is open to all Australian artists working in any media, except photography.
Over the years around 350 works have been acquired through the Prize, making it a significant source that strengthens the Gold Coast City Gallery Collection. Finalists come from an incredibly diverse field, with known and unfamiliar, established and emerging, traditional and experimental artists represented.
From a selection of 47 finalists, this year’s Judge Nick Mitzevich has awarded Tweed Heads-based artist Hiromi Tango the winner of the Gold Coast Art Prize 2015 for her work Sea Tears (2014).
Nick Mitzevich, Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia comments on Tango’s 3D sculpture and a wall work:
“One can’t escape the energy and vitality of Sea Tears by Hiromi Tango. A cultural collision of her Japanese heritage and her most recent experiences in Australia contribute to this unmissable work.
“Like a Berocca for the senses, Tango seduces us into her mad and obsessive collecting. Like a bowerbird, she mines her immediate surroundings and experiences to create works that are both autobiographical and take the pulse of contemporary society. Thematically this work is a tour de force for the Gold Coast’s legacy of sea, sun and surf”, continues Mitzevich.
Artist Statement:
‘Sea Tears’ contemplates the unique relationship between the ocean and the mind, using the seahorse as a metaphor for the seat of memory and emotion in the human brain: the hippocampus was named after the seahorse for its shape. Tendrils branch and intertwine, forming a colourful network of fibres representing neural networks. New connections are formed, others terminate, mirroring the process of neuroplasticity. The role of argon in cancer treatment inspired the use of argon gas as a light source in the work – shining gently, transforming difficult memories and healing the sadness.
The winning artwork has been acquired for the Gold Coast City Collection, along with Christian Lock’s Untitled (2014).
Gold Coast City Gallery
Until 31 January, 2016
Queensland
Hiromi Tango, Sea Tears, 2014, wall sculpture using Neon, perspex, wool, donated fabric, paper, wire, 180 x 150 x 15cm
Courtesy of the artist and Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney
Christian Lock, Untitled, 2014, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 158 x 158cm
Courtesy of the artist and Greenaway Gallery, Adelaide
