Rew Hanks has taken the coveted first prize in this year’s Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award with his work titled Gone Fishing East of Faskrudfjordur (2018), receiving $16,000 cash and the print to be acquired by the City of Fremantle Art Collection.
Rew Hanks, Gone Fishing East of Faskrudfjordur, 2018, linocut, 70 x 200cm
The 2019 judging panel – Lee Kinsella, Curator at Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia; Anne Ryan, Curator of Australian Art / Australian Prints, Drawings & Watercolours at the Art Gallery of New South Wales; and, Mark Stewart, Curator at the Murdoch University Art Collection – admired the work and said, ‘Gone Fishing East of Faskrudfjordur stood out for its lyrical rendering of a vast Nordic landscape. This remote and beautiful part of the world seems untouched by modern life. However, on closer inspection tiny human figures infiltrate the scene, reminding us of the fragility of nature and the impact of humanity on the environment. The energy of nature is effectively rendered in the layers of water, land, cloud and sky. The print is extraordinarily sophisticated and well executed, on an ambitious scale that sustains its power over the expanse of the image.’
While visiting Iceland for three months in early 2017 Hanks was overwhelmed by its diverse landscape. At the end of winter the rugged mountain ranges in Southern Iceland were gently dusted with snow contrasting dramatically against the black volcanic rocks. The contrasting blacks and whites were perfect imagery demanding to be transposed into linocuts. However while examining photographs of this majestic scene he noticed a minute solitary figure in the foreground standing at the waters edge fishing alone and close by was a small boat full of fisherman. Their presence was a shattering reminder of the four huge aluminium smelters already built on this island and the six more planned for the highlands. Even this uniquely beautiful isolated country is seriously under threat.
Eunice Napanangka Jack, Kuruyultu, 2019, ink on paper, 50 x 100cm. Printer: Basil Hall Editions
Northern Territory artist Eunice Napanangka Jack takes out the $6,000 second prize for her work Kuruyultu (2019) depicting her father’s Tjukurrpa (Dreaming). It shows the country at Kuruyultu, near Tjukurrla in Western Australia.
‘This very painterly print glows with shimmering blue energy. In a print medium, it is faithful to the artist’s traditional image making practices with a real sense of her body and hand in its making. The print has been made in a successful and sensitive collaboration with a master printer combining intaglio and screen-print, which results in a complex surface of great depth and vibrancy,’ said the judges.
Highly Commended:
Mark Dustin, Felt Suit (2017)
Clare Humphries, New Moon on Monday (2019)
Nadia Kliendanze, Pebbles (2018)
Julie Mia Holmes, Anchorless (2018)
The 56 finalists’ works can be viewed in ‘Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award 2019’ exhibition at Fremantle Arts Centre until 10 November 2019.
