Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery’s (MPRG) biennial National Works on Paper (NWOP) event presents a generation-defying survey of contemporary art, celebrating the medium of paper in all its forms. Over 1,000 artists across Australia submitted entries for this year’s award exhibition, with seventy shortlisted works showing the depth and breadth of this vast and all-encompassing survey, covering a number of themes, including climate and environment, First Nations stories, Country, politics, and personal perspectives across painting, printmaking, drawing, video, sculpture and weaving.
D Harding, (Potentially) enough bodypaint for three dancers
Last month, the NWOP 2024 judging panel – Lisa Waup, artist and NWOP 2022 finalist; Erica Green, Director of Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia; Trent Walter, Director of Negative Press; and Dunja Rmandić, Curator – Exhibitions, current Acting Director, MPRG – selected the following winners:
D Harding, who was awarded the National Works on Paper 2024 $20,000 Major Acquisitive Award for his work (Potentially) enough bodypaint for three dancers, 2023. “This sheet of paper, when folded, is small enough to be carried in a backpack, or be mailed to someone in the post,” says the artist. “The paper is coated with my approximation of enough bodypaint that three dancers could re-wet and use to paint their bodies. The natural, water-soluble white bodypaint on this sheet of paper may be shared, carried, or stored in potentia.”
Kyra Mancktelow, Mrs (Unconstitutional Love)
Kyra Mancktelow won the National Works on Paper 2024 Emerging Artist $5,000 award for her work Mrs (Unconstitutional Love), 2024, a wedding dress honouring the artist’s Ancestors. The piece “continues the exploration of the history of garments in Australia as a means by which to address the ongoing impact of colonisation in this nation,” says Mancktelow. “Until the 1960s, Indigenous Australians could only marry with government permission. These garments and prints investigate long-lasting legacies of colonialism, asking questions such as how we remember and acknowledge these histories. My hope is to draw upon the strength of resistance by adapting, and retaining cultural ways and identity.” The judges added: “The anonymity and absence of the wearer sits on the sheet as evidence, a facsimile that insists on a reclamation of history and a remembering of individual and community pain. Its life-size and floating aspect drive this haunting effect and make this a compelling piece. It is a moment we need to remember so past mistakes are not repeated.”
The NWOP 2024 finalist exhibition is on display at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington VIC 3931, until 24 November. Visitors can vote for their favourite work in the People’s Choice Award, with the winning artist receiving $1,000 in prize money. A series of public programs including workshops, artist talks and events all focusing on the exhibiting artist and the medium of paper will be held during the exhibition period.
