Award Winners - Molly Morpeth Canaday Award Painting and Drawing 2021
Diverse Graphics People’s Choice Merit Award
Julia Holden 'Self Portrait (Jodi Clark, after Rita Angus)'
After just over a month of collating votes, the results for this year’s Molly Morpeth Canaday Award 2021 Diverse Graphics People’s Choice Merit Award are in. The 2021 recipient is artist Julia Holden for her enchanting mixed media work Self Portrait (Jodi Clark, after Rita Angus).
Self Portrait is a juxtaposition of both photography and painting, stretching our understanding of how portraiture can be made. Paint has been applied directly on to the model-as-canvas, and a photograph is then taken of the resulting ‘portrait’ – which then becomes the finished work. This piece has impressed Te Koputu a te whanga a Toi’s audiences from day one, receiving twice as many votes as the next popular artwork.
In the making of this work, Julia Holden states that she “intends a respectful and serious provocation to current conservative boundaries and constrained thinking in relation to the definition of the traditional painted portrait”.
Diverse Graphics Director Chanelle James is excited to offer her congratulations – and the $500 prize - to Julia Holden for her win. “We want to be able to give something back to the community, and the artists, through this award. It’s great to see people engaging with the art in this way, and we’re happy to facilitate that.”
Julia Holden is a multi-disciplinary artist, combining painting with performance, photography, sound and film. Well-known projects include Lyttelton Redux (2016-17), a 23 portrait audio-visual project connecting present-day locals with historical figures with Lyttelton connections, and highlighting their significant contributions toward NZ’s development. Live ‘Performance Paintings’ showing an audience how non-toxic paint is applied to the models are an intriguing development in her practice. In 2019 she was a finalist in the Wallace Art Award, and was awarded a grant from the Suffrage 125 Fund, Creative New Zealand.
Using the body as a living canvas, Self Portrait (Jodi Clark, after Rita Angus) intends a respectful and serious provocation to current conservative boundaries and constrained thinking in relation to the definition of the traditional painted portrait. Painter Jodi Clark is depicted ‘as’ Rita Angus’s 1929 self portrait, suggesting the ongoing visual conversation with the iconic painter. Captured in the immediacy of the live painting performance and the juicy freshness of wet, not-yet-dry paint is a challenge to photorealism in painting. Jodi ‘becomes’ ‘Rita,’ alluding to the transformative, performative nature of portraiture and the interaction between subject, sitter and viewer.
Self Portrait is a juxtaposition of both photography and painting, stretching our understanding of how portraiture can be made. Paint has been applied directly on to the model-as-canvas, and a photograph is then taken of the resulting ‘portrait’ – which then becomes the finished work. This piece has impressed Te Koputu a te whanga a Toi’s audiences from day one, receiving twice as many votes as the next popular artwork.
In the making of this work, Julia Holden states that she “intends a respectful and serious provocation to current conservative boundaries and constrained thinking in relation to the definition of the traditional painted portrait”.
Diverse Graphics Director Chanelle James is excited to offer her congratulations – and the $500 prize - to Julia Holden for her win. “We want to be able to give something back to the community, and the artists, through this award. It’s great to see people engaging with the art in this way, and we’re happy to facilitate that.”
Julia Holden is a multi-disciplinary artist, combining painting with performance, photography, sound and film. Well-known projects include Lyttelton Redux (2016-17), a 23 portrait audio-visual project connecting present-day locals with historical figures with Lyttelton connections, and highlighting their significant contributions toward NZ’s development. Live ‘Performance Paintings’ showing an audience how non-toxic paint is applied to the models are an intriguing development in her practice. In 2019 she was a finalist in the Wallace Art Award, and was awarded a grant from the Suffrage 125 Fund, Creative New Zealand.
Using the body as a living canvas, Self Portrait (Jodi Clark, after Rita Angus) intends a respectful and serious provocation to current conservative boundaries and constrained thinking in relation to the definition of the traditional painted portrait. Painter Jodi Clark is depicted ‘as’ Rita Angus’s 1929 self portrait, suggesting the ongoing visual conversation with the iconic painter. Captured in the immediacy of the live painting performance and the juicy freshness of wet, not-yet-dry paint is a challenge to photorealism in painting. Jodi ‘becomes’ ‘Rita,’ alluding to the transformative, performative nature of portraiture and the interaction between subject, sitter and viewer.
Hannah Ireland 'They Laughed, I Cried'
Major Winner 2021 Molly Morpeth Canaday Painting and Drawing
Hannah Ireland 'They Laughed, I Cried'
This work was captivating from the outset. Some might think it grotesque or lacking the technical refinement to be the recipient of this major award, but it is the very urgency and emotion of the making and the evocative process of the viewing that makes this work so memorable. There is a clown-like quality to the layered application of paint, made more so by the white face and daisy motif, but this is not your happy-go-lucky entertainer; rather there is an intense, almost horror-like air in their haunting gaze. This dark-eyed figure seems to be contradicted by their flowery dress and bold jewellery choice, like a morose housebound captive looking desperately out into the world from their domestic prison, or alternatively, they might be looking into the home they wish they had through a rain-washed window pane. Either way there is nothing about this work that allows it to slip into the background. Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Hannah Ireland 'They Laughed, I Cried'
This work was captivating from the outset. Some might think it grotesque or lacking the technical refinement to be the recipient of this major award, but it is the very urgency and emotion of the making and the evocative process of the viewing that makes this work so memorable. There is a clown-like quality to the layered application of paint, made more so by the white face and daisy motif, but this is not your happy-go-lucky entertainer; rather there is an intense, almost horror-like air in their haunting gaze. This dark-eyed figure seems to be contradicted by their flowery dress and bold jewellery choice, like a morose housebound captive looking desperately out into the world from their domestic prison, or alternatively, they might be looking into the home they wish they had through a rain-washed window pane. Either way there is nothing about this work that allows it to slip into the background. Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Hannah Ireland has been named as the recipient of the 2021 Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust Major Award. The $10,000 prize was awarded for Ireland’s work They Laughed, I Cried, a work that reflects the act of drawing from the perspective of having a body, rather than observing one.
Guest Judge Karl Chitham chose Ireland’s winning work from a pool of 78 finalists. Summarising his response to the work, Chitham says this work was captivating from the outset. “Some might think it grotesque or lacking the technical refinement to be the recipient of this major award, but it is the urgency and emotion of the making and the evocative process of the viewing that makes this work so memorable”, he explains. “ This dark-eyed figure seems to be contradicted by their flowery dress and bold jewellery choice, like a morose housebound prison, or alternatively, they might be looking into the home they wish they had through a rain washed window pane.
Ten other outstanding works were also recognised with awards. I am of this land by Tessa Williams the winner of the $500 Gordon Harris Merit Award. Notes by Akiko Diegel the winner of the $500 4 Art Sake Gallery Merit Award. Walking Drawings (Lockdown edges) by Rebecca Steedman received $1000 Robinson Law Whakatāne Highly Commended Award.
The winner of the $2,500 Craigs Investment Partners Youth Award is Poems for Ephemeral Men by Wesley John Fourie. Robinson Law Highly Commended Award and The joint winners of the $3000 Arts Whakatāne Award are Three Übermensch of Tongpop by Telly Tuita and Baka IV by Claudia Jowitt. Aohanga by Heidi Brickell received $4000 Akel Award.
All of the finalist works selected for the Award exhibition can be viewed at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre, until the 4th April. Visitors are encouraged to vote for the work they think should receive the People’s Choice Merit Award ($500) before the exhibition ends. An exciting programme of free public events also runs alongside the exhibition; all are welcome to attend.
Exhibition partners Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council wish to congratulate all winners and finalists, and acknowledge the support of sponsors and staff members who have made the 2021 MMCA – Painting and Drawing possible.
Guest Judge Karl Chitham chose Ireland’s winning work from a pool of 78 finalists. Summarising his response to the work, Chitham says this work was captivating from the outset. “Some might think it grotesque or lacking the technical refinement to be the recipient of this major award, but it is the urgency and emotion of the making and the evocative process of the viewing that makes this work so memorable”, he explains. “ This dark-eyed figure seems to be contradicted by their flowery dress and bold jewellery choice, like a morose housebound prison, or alternatively, they might be looking into the home they wish they had through a rain washed window pane.
Ten other outstanding works were also recognised with awards. I am of this land by Tessa Williams the winner of the $500 Gordon Harris Merit Award. Notes by Akiko Diegel the winner of the $500 4 Art Sake Gallery Merit Award. Walking Drawings (Lockdown edges) by Rebecca Steedman received $1000 Robinson Law Whakatāne Highly Commended Award.
The winner of the $2,500 Craigs Investment Partners Youth Award is Poems for Ephemeral Men by Wesley John Fourie. Robinson Law Highly Commended Award and The joint winners of the $3000 Arts Whakatāne Award are Three Übermensch of Tongpop by Telly Tuita and Baka IV by Claudia Jowitt. Aohanga by Heidi Brickell received $4000 Akel Award.
All of the finalist works selected for the Award exhibition can be viewed at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre, until the 4th April. Visitors are encouraged to vote for the work they think should receive the People’s Choice Merit Award ($500) before the exhibition ends. An exciting programme of free public events also runs alongside the exhibition; all are welcome to attend.
Exhibition partners Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council wish to congratulate all winners and finalists, and acknowledge the support of sponsors and staff members who have made the 2021 MMCA – Painting and Drawing possible.
- Whakatāne Society of Arts & Crafts & Hon. Anne Tolley Merit Award is 'I Cant Think of Anything Id Rather Eat' by Nicola Bennett.
- Kay & Ross Boreham and Accounting Biz Local Merit Award is 'Painted Whatu' by Aimee Ratana and Maraea Timutimu.
- Gordon Harris Merit Award is 'I am of this land' by Tessa Williams.
- 4Art Sake Gallery Merit Award is 'Notes' by Akiko Diegel
- Robinson Law Whakatāne Highly Commended Award is 'Walking Drawings (Lockdown edges)' by Rebecca Steedman
- Craigs Investment partners Youth Award is 'Poems for Ephemeral Men' by Wesley John Fourie.
- Arts Whakatāne Award are 'Three Übermensch of Tongpop by Telly Tuita' and 'Baka IV' by Claudia Jowitt.
- Akel Award is 'Aohanga' by Heidi Brickell.
- The winner of the Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust Major Award is 'They Laughed, I Cried' by Hannah Ireland.
'Aohanga' by Heidi Brickell
Akel Award Winner, 2021 Molly Morpeth Canaday
'Aohanga' by Heidi Brickell
'Aohanga' by Heidi Brickell
This work is a visually quiet painting that packs a punch in its subject matter. While the topic is very particular to the artist’s experience and personal journey, they have used their unique visual language and artmaking process to articulate some universal concepts. Open hands reaching out for acceptance or tentative hands, fingers closed in anticipation of an unknown reception; these interlinked appendages weave their way around the canvas seeking some form of union or reunion. The painted surface, punctuated by the relief line of string tracing overlapping shapes, gives the impression of camouflage - memories, connections and the histories that have yet to come to light but hidden in plain sight. Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Arts Whakatāne Award
Three Übermensch of Tongpop by Telly Tuita and Baka IV by Claudia Jowitt.
Three Übermensch of Tongpop by Telly Tuita and Baka IV by Claudia Jowitt.
This prize has been jointly awarded to two works that both represent very different but equally engaging sets of ideas.
The first is a work that hits you with its exuberant cacophony of patterns, imagery and texture. Layers of paint combined with an unrestrained colour pallet initially dazzle and confuse the viewer but as you spend time with this work the central cast of characters move to the foreground providing a focal point and hinting at a potential narrative. This is a pure expression of popular culture – not the Americanised references to Mickey Mouse and Andy Warhol, but the lived experience of art, fashion, politics and belief that truly pervades the every day in Aotearoa and Moana Oceania.
The second work is a similar study in excess but from a very different perspective. Created using the familiar and for some, not so familiar tools and processes of cooking and the kitchen, this work is a study in more is more. Referencing multiple cultural traditions, it is the viewer’s job to examine and dissect the surface in order to see the carefully placed moments of discovery – tiny pieces of paua, little sparkling slivers of copper leaf and the linked network of cowrie shells. It would be easy to be caught up in the soft pastel curves, squiggles and flurries that pervade the canvas, but the real joy of this work is the small, sometimes jarring, treasures hidden in-between.
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
The first is a work that hits you with its exuberant cacophony of patterns, imagery and texture. Layers of paint combined with an unrestrained colour pallet initially dazzle and confuse the viewer but as you spend time with this work the central cast of characters move to the foreground providing a focal point and hinting at a potential narrative. This is a pure expression of popular culture – not the Americanised references to Mickey Mouse and Andy Warhol, but the lived experience of art, fashion, politics and belief that truly pervades the every day in Aotearoa and Moana Oceania.
The second work is a similar study in excess but from a very different perspective. Created using the familiar and for some, not so familiar tools and processes of cooking and the kitchen, this work is a study in more is more. Referencing multiple cultural traditions, it is the viewer’s job to examine and dissect the surface in order to see the carefully placed moments of discovery – tiny pieces of paua, little sparkling slivers of copper leaf and the linked network of cowrie shells. It would be easy to be caught up in the soft pastel curves, squiggles and flurries that pervade the canvas, but the real joy of this work is the small, sometimes jarring, treasures hidden in-between.
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
'Three Übermensch of Tongpop' by Telly Tuita
'Baka IV' by Claudia Jowitt
Craigs Investment partners Youth Award
Poems for Ephemeral Men by Wesley John Fourie
Poems for Ephemeral Men by Wesley John Fourie
'Poems for Ephemeral Men' by Wesley John Fourie
This is a deeply personal work that tracks the interactions of the artist with the many intimate memories and moments of their life. The muted colourways reference marks, stains and impressions that are both metaphorical and in some cases lyrical in their approach. The textual utterances scrawled across the surface of the work have obvious romantic overtones punctuated by an abundance of love hearts. While somewhat saccharine to the casual observer, this ode to love is a touching reclamation of the masculine relationship in all its unruly glory.
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Robinson Law Whakatāne Highly Commended Award
Walking Drawings (Lockdown edges) by Rebecca Steedman
Walking Drawings (Lockdown edges) by Rebecca Steedman
'Walking Drawings (Lockdown edges)' by Rebecca Steedman
Drawing is an often underrated expression of immediacy. This work, which charted the artist’s physical and emotional boundaries during various recent periods of lockdown, is a very current reflection of how art can reflect the world around us. Rendered in the soft strokes of watercolour on paper these musings remind us of the fragility of our place on this planet and the need to appreciate everything we have. The mounting of these visual notes, slightly askew on their bespoke ceramic shelves, hints at the change and adaption required in times of crisis – things may not always be perfect but there is always an adequate and sometimes poetically beautiful work-around.
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Merit Award - 4Artsake
Notes by Akiko Diegel
Notes by Akiko Diegel
'Notes' by Akiko Diegel
This work reflects observations of the things we fill our lives with. Whether the foodstuffs of necessity or consumer items of desire, the artist here makes a statement about our role in the proliferation and collecting of stuff. The humble lined-notebook becomes a record of these transactions held forever in stasis. Documenting the object of study and its list of empirical data found on its packaging, this work offers a sad indictment of our contemporary lifestyles. There is also a hint, through the use of museological display devices, that this might be a way of the past rather than an indication of things to come.
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Gordon Harris Merit Award
I am of this land by Tessa Williams.
I am of this land by Tessa Williams.
'I am of this land' by Tessa Williams.
The medium artists create with often takes a back seat to the idea or subject being communicated through the work. In this instance, the medium is the work and the subject untied into a single statement of intent. Reflecting many centuries of tradition and knowledge this work holds up the physical material of kōkōwai, as a concept worthy of its own study and depiction. This work indicates a considered move away from a rendering created in the image of, to a bold unapologetic declaration of the relationship we have with Papatūānuku. Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
' I am of this land' by Tessa Williams.
Kay & Ross Boreham and Accounting Biz Local Merit Award
Painted Whatu by Aimee Ratana and Maraea Timutimu
Painted Whatu by Aimee Ratana and Maraea Timutimu
'Painted Whatu' by Aimee Ratana and Maraea Timutimu.
The intertwined, overlapped and braided strands of this work are more than a beautifully articulated reflection of Māori raranga traditions, they also reference the bringing together of ideas, peoples and histories across time, space and the limitations of geographical boundaries. Using the medium of paint as both a physical and conceptual unifying substance, the artists signal the melding of past, present and the potential of the future. Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Whakatāne Society of Arts & Crafts & Hon. Anne Tolley Merit Award
I Cant Think of Anything I'd Rather Eat by Nicola Bennett
I Cant Think of Anything I'd Rather Eat by Nicola Bennett
'I Cant Think of Anything I'd Rather Eat' by Nicola Bennett
Formal approaches to painting are not always a consideration in this age of ideas and conceptual exploration. Yet the strength of this work is the push and pull of its composition. Mounted on a deep-set stretcher, this small canvas offers an inviting entry point to the artist’s fascination with and inspiration from food. While not immediately obvious to the viewer this unique subject matter helps create the dynamism of light and dark, complexity of forms and carefully considered mark-making that make this work so arresting. Karl Chitham - Guest Judge
Peoples Choice Award - Diverse Graphics - announced 22 March 2021
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Molly Morpeth Canaday Painting and Drawing Award 2021 The organisers of this year’s Molly Morpeth Canaday Award Painting and Drawing, Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council, are delighted to present this major national exhibition. Our appreciation goes to the judges – Guest judge, Karl Chitham, and preliminary judges Francis McWhannell, Natasha Matila-Smith and Hanahiva Rose – for their commitment to supporting artists and bringing increasingly innovative art to our community. Special thanks also go to our supporting sponsors, volunteers and the organising teams. Their collective generosity has contributed to the current status of the award as one of the most recognised art events in New Zealand. This exhibition features works by artists from Aotearoa, selected from a record-breaking number of entries by three independent Preliminary Judges. Winners have been selected by Guest Judge, Karl Chitham. Those that were selected present an exciting cross-section of contemporary works that extend beyond the practice of painting and drawing. This year, our vision is to encourage and celebrate the development of painting and drawing on a national level and reward artists who create outstanding works. The exhibition partners Arts Whakatāne and the Whakatāne District Council are heartened by the strength of commitment this demonstrates to painting and drawing, as an arts discipline, and to the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award. The inaugural art award was held in 1985 - to launch the Whakatāne Community Arts Council (now known as Arts Whakatāne). In 1991, the Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust became the principal award sponsor and gained naming rights for the exhibition and its programme. In 2012, the Award moved into Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi’s galleries, marking the beginning of the Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council partnership. This award is a non-acquisitive annual award that alternates its focus between Painting and Drawing and Three-Dimensional Art. Dates: Exhibition dates: Sunday 14 February – Sunday 4 April 2021 Location: Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi - Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre Judged by: Guest judge Karl Chitham (Ngā Puhi, Te Uriroroi) is the Director of The Dowse Art Museum and was previously Director and Curator of Tauranga Art Gallery - Toi Tauranga. He has also held curatorial roles at Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa, University of Waikato, Whakatāne Museum and Gallery and Objectspace. He has a Master’s Degree in Sculpture from Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University. Chitham has judged numerous regional art awards and was a judge for the 2019 Occam New Zealand Book Awards and was on the selection panel for the New Zealand Pavilion at the Venice Biennale for 2021. He was co-author of the recently published book Crafting Aotearoa: A Cultural History of Making in New Zealand and Wider Moana Oceania. Recent curatorial projects have included Ā Mua: New Lineages of Making co-curated with Kolokesa U Māhina-Tuai, Traverse: Mark Igloliorte co-curated with Wendy Richdale, and Whatu Manawa: Celebrating the Weaving of Matakino Lawless. Pre-selection judges Hanahiva Rose (Te Ātiawa, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ra’iātea, Huahine) is the assistant curator of contemporary art and collections at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Ngāmotu New Plymouth. Hanahiva is regularly published for her research into modern and contemporary art practices in Aotearoa. She has written exhibition texts for a range of institutions, including the Dowse Art Museum, Adam Art Gallery and Enjoy Public Art Gallery, and articles for Art New Zealand, Art News, Artzone, Capital Magazine, The Spinoff, The Pantograph Punch, among others. Natasha Matila-Smith (b1984) is an arts practitioner who lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau. Natasha holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Elam School of Fine Arts. Her curatorial and writing practice broadly explores ideas around Indigenous identities, with the aim of increasing a truer sense of agency for marginalised voices. In 2020, she was announced as the inaugural Pacific Curator-in-Residence for the Asia-Pacific Triennial 10 at QAGOMA in Brisbane. Natasha is also a writer who has contributed to national and international publications and has exhibited both locally and internationally in Rotterdam International Film Festival, Te Uru, Bus Projects, Melbourne; The Dowse Museum, Wellington. Francis McWhannell is a writer and exhibition-maker from Aotearoa based in Tāmaki Makaurau. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Museums and Cultural Heritage and a Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Auckland. In 2019, he was appointed curator of the well-known Fletcher Trust Collection. He is a passionate advocate for the arts and especially for early-career artists from Aotearoa. Francis has written for various arts and culture websites and publications including The Spinoff, The Pantograph Punch, Art Collector, Art New Zealand, and Art News New Zealand. He has produced essays for exhibitions at ST PAUL St Gallery and the Gus Fisher Gallery. He is co-author of two books on historical photography, Bitter fruit: Australian photographs to 1963 (2017) and Broad sunlight: Early West African photography (2020). Awards
Major Award $10,000
Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust Runner up Award $4000 Akel Family Award Arts Whakatāne Award $3,000 Arts Whakatāne Craigs Investment Partners Youth Award $2,500 Craigs Investment Partners Robinson Law Award $1,000 Robinson Law - Merit Awards (all of $500 value) 4 Art Sake Gallery Merit Award Gordon Harris Merit Award Kay and Ross Boreham and Accounting Biz Local Artist Merit Award Diverse Graphics People's Choice Award Whakatāne Society of Arts and Craft & Hon. Anne Tolley Merit Award |
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Organiser
Arts Whakatāne
Exhibition Partner
Whakatāne District Council
Major Sponsor
Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust