Northern Territory based artist Lee Harrop has been awarded the $10,000 Footscray Art Prize for her sculptural work that interrogates the mining industry using a hand-engraved core sample.

The winning work, titled And this, too, shall pass, was selected by the judging panel – made up of NGV’s Myles Russell-Cook, VCA’s Vikki McInnes, and freelance curator Kirsty Grant – from 39 shortlisted artworks after the judges initially reviewed over 830 entries into the third iteration of the Prize.

The judges observed that the work is “modest in scale and quiet in its presentation, but in this apparent simplicity, it has great power.” They were impressed by the materiality of the object – solid and tactile – that speaks to a deep time.

Core samples have become a regular feature in Harrop’s arts practice, influenced by her collaborations with Western Australian and Northern Territory Geological Core Libraries. The naturally occurring substances are typically mined and analysed to determine what materials lay beneath the earth’s surface.

“Utilising text and quoting a familiar adage that reflects on the temporary nature of human existence, it resonates widely, reminding us of our connections to the past and responsibilities to the future.” concluded the judges.

As a PhD candidate at Charles Darwin University, Harrop explores the representations of mining, its connection to the wider global discourse about its environmental impact, and the present pandemic.

A new category, the $10,000 Local Artist Acquisition Prize, has also been awarded to Sunshine-based artist Simon Clark for his work Gaskin Gardens. The impact of the pandemic on our communities is a strong theme in the exhibition, and Clark’s intricately layered collage reflects on the confinement that many commission housing residents experienced during lockdown. The artwork will be acquired into Maribyrnong City Council’s art collection.

Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC) will soon receive a new mural addition thanks to the $5,000 Street Art Prize, which was awarded to Macedon resident Emma Coulter. Her mural, to be installed in the next few weeks, will attempt to create a ‘window’ between the community and FCAC. The judges selected this work for the potential it has to instantly engage visitors to the area, “drawing them in with the strength of its design, the way it plays with perception, as well as it’s joyful colour”.

Two artists – Ahmad Sabra and Scotty So – also received a residency with FCAC as part of the new Emerging Artist category.

Local artists Rosie Kalina and Dawn Tan selected the winners of the Young Artists Prize categories from over 160 artworks, which are displayed at Victoria University’s MetroWest venue.

The biennial prize is a unique collaboration between Victoria University, Maribyrnong City Council, Footscray Community Arts Centre and the Rotary Club of Footscray with And this, too, shall pass, along with winners in Local Artist Acquisition, Street Art, Emerging Artist and Young Artist categories, viewable in free exhibitions at Footscray Community Arts Centre and VU at MetroWest until Saturday 5 June 2021.

For more information about the exhibition visit www.footscrayartprize.com/exhibitions, which includes an online catalogue and 360 video tour.

Media contacts:

Katrina Gubbins | Communications Coordinator, Victoria University
0448 700 467 | katrina.gubbins@vu.edu.au
Jessica Ankomah | Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Footscray Community Arts Centre
0403 528 550 | jessica.a@footscrayarts.com

The winners

Footscray Art Prize winner (main prize)

Lee Harrop
And this, too, shall pass
Hand engraved geological core sample from Yilgarn Craton, WA

My current body of work responds to the present pandemic whilst also continuing my decade long investigation into the mining industry’s social, economic and environmental impacts. Scientists have long warned of the inevitability of new infectious diseases as a result of human impacts on the natural world.

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This artwork is on display at Footscray Community Arts Centre as part of the Footscray Art Prize exhibition until Saturday 5 June.

Street Art Prize winner

Emma Coulter
Spatial deconstruction #25

Emma Coulter’s art practice utilises built forms and spatial environments as painting supports.

Her artwork for the Footscray Community Arts Centre, spatial deconstruction#25 (perceptual vortex), attempts to create a ‘window’ into the space between the community and the arts centre, through the structured arrangement of colour on the building’s facade.

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The artwork will be installed on the warehouse north wall of Footscray Community Arts Centre over the coming weeks.

Local Artist Acquisition Prize winner

Simon Clark
Gaskin Gardens
Paper and card collage, graphite, ink

This collage, created in 2020, depicts the facade of Gaskin Gardens, a twelve-story residential housing commission complex for elderly residents, situated in Footscray.

The confinement of the residents during the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020 seemed intensified by the Brutalist exterior of the building; this was no utopia, quite the opposite.

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This artwork is on display at Footscray Community Arts Centre as part of the Footscray Art Prize exhibition until Saturday 5 June.

Emerging Artist Prize winners

Ahmad Sabra
Anthem
Video

Anthem responds to the growing fear of Muslims in Australia by examining how Muslims are perceived in contemporary Australian society and by exploring the mechanisms of prejudice – how easy it is to make assumptions and establish stereotypes and challenge the perceptions of viewers.

And

Scotty S
As She…
Videos on holographic device, wood, velvet, perspex

Part of a collection, As She… explores the fetishism of Oriental femininity in Sci-fi movies and advertisements. Scotty So recorded himself performing in his drag persona Scarlett, transferred the videos onto the hologram advertising device, creating the ghostly moving image of Scarlett that entertains the audience forever.

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These artworks are on display at Footscray Community Arts Centre as part of the Footscray Art Prize exhibition until Saturday 5 June.

Young Artist Prize winner (secondary)

Miwa Wilson
To Grow Up

This artwork was inspired by the feelings of growing up. I have always kept a diary since I was little and I wanted my work to reflect these feelings. My piece is a mixed media collage showing two manipulated self portraits to describe the feelings through the various changes experienced.

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This artwork is on display at VU at MetroWest as part of the Footscray Art Prize exhibition until Saturday 5 June.

Young Artist Prize winner (primary)

Jayden Ly
Growling Grass frogs and their habitat

I am interested in Australian native frogs including the Growling Grass frog. I joined the FrogID app and started recording frog calls to help the Australian Museum conserve frog populations. My artwork is inspired by Jeannie Baker and the messages she tells her readers about environmental changes.

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