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An inspiring breadth of talent, creativity and imagination by young artists aged 7 to 18 from the local region was recently on show at this year’s Next Gen Art Prize in the Matthew Flinders Gallery at the Bribie Island Community Arts Centre.
BIEPA was again very happy to sponsor the Award for Art from Recycled Materials.
Prize Winner
Artist Geoff Ginn judged the entries under this award across all age groups, and selected the “Mutant Turtle Hatching” 3D work by “Art with Heart” as the winner. The group of five Banksia Beach State School students had created a sculpture of a turtle nest on the ocean beach, but instead of baby turtles, 4WD vehicles were emerging from the eggs.
Geoff commented:
“The most engaging feature of this work is its wit. The satirical twist of Hatching 4WDs is unexpected and apt. The work employs a wide variety of material. These young artists could look at waste and see FORM and TEXTURE and use it as a representative medium: on a polystyrene base, bottle caps became crabs, bubble wrap an encroching wave, wood shavings & cardboard the sand dunes. The focus and action of the hatching vehicles is dramatic and arresting.”
Special Mentions
He congratulated all the artists who had entered pieces made from recycled materials, together with the families and teachers who had encouraged them to create and present these works. He gave a particular mention to “Deadly Dessert”, “Paper Birds”, and “Autumn to Waste“, with the following comments.
Deadly Dessert - by Arty Crew Two
“Line and form in waste plastics make a beautiful and memorable piece. Textures are perfect for the subject, creating a link between beauty and toxic death. A very real problem when sea creatures mistake plastics for their prey.”
Paper Birds – by Evelyn Ohrt
“Such an everyday duo of birds at their nest, simply but convincingly created from newspaper. The FORM is economically and cleverly made by squashing and moulding the paper. The artist is seeing the novel in a familiar scene.”
Waste to Autumn - by Bella Pietrantonio
“The resilience of this artist is commendable. The work involved to painstakingly cut realistic leaf forms from plastic bottles, heat & shape them, colour them in autumn shades and finally arrange them as foliage above a tree trunk created from strands of wool, has resulted in a work with a high standard of finish and an inventive selection of material.”
Certificate Presentation
Geoff and BIEPA Member Kathleen presented the certificate and prize to the “Art with Heart” group at the awards event.
It was again an exciting and inspiring evening at the Arts Centre, with a large crowd of young artists, their families and friends, competition sponsors and supporters. After touring the exhibition, City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery officially opened the event, commending all the artists on entering the competition and the high standard of work exhibited.
State MP for Pumicestone Ali King and Councillor Brooke Savige also complimented the artists, presented awards, and thanked the Next Gen Committee for their work in organising the competition and giving an opportunity to the region’s young artists to display their works in such a prestigious gallery.
A group of young musicians entertained the crowd, and school students did an excellent job as ushers.