Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, August 4, 2023
Hamilton has been busy with a plethora of activities for all to enjoy. While sports fans have the pleasure of watching their favourite team play for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the art connoisseurs are not left behind.
National Contemporary Art Awards that took place in the city last week brought together a powerhouse of talent and creativity.
Artist Tawhai Rickard (Ngaati Uepohatu, Ngaati Porou) from Tauranga won the prestigious $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award for a “nuanced and generous” installation titled ‘Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant.’
The winning work was selected by Melanie Oliver, a highly respected art curator and judge for the 2023 National Contemporary Art Award at Hamilton’s Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga O Waikato.
Celebrating bicultural foundations
Announcing the prize at an awards ceremony, Ms Oliver said, “Rickard’s work Scenes of a Victorian Restaurant invites viewers to take a seat at the table, challenging us all to engage in a discussion on the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa. It is a nuanced and generous provocation, prompting us to think about the ongoing impacts of colonisation and our failings in terms of Te Tiriti. This work clearly speaks to the most pressing issues of our time.”
Rickard described the artwork in his own words: “It is a visual ode to the bicultural relationship between Māori and non-Māori. The aesthetic integrity of my work aligns with our country’s bicultural foundations through the use of Victorian baroque elements combined with the figurative painting style of my ancestral house Hinetapora, circa 1896.”
The setting is a Victorian restaurant with wall hangings that feature scenes pertinent to our country’s cultural landscape. These are presented in an anti-chronological nature promoting historical and contemporary characters and narratives. The aesthetic integrity of my work aligns with our country’s bicultural foundations through the use of Victorian baroque elements combined with the figurative painting style of my ancestral house Hinetapora circa 1896.
The title of this work transpired during the conceptual process, being influenced by one of progressive rock’s musical classics. The song’s storyline and two main characters are decontextualised by the eventual breakdown of our country’s bicultural foundations and the abiding invitation to return to it.
The judging process
Through the National Contemporary Art Award’s traditional blind-judging process (concealing the artist names from the judge), ‘scenes from a Victorian Restaurant’ was chosen from an unprecedented volume of entries, with more than 420 works submitted by New Zealand-based here and overseas. The 41 finalist works are now on exhibit at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato until November 12, 2023 (free entry).
“Melanie Oliver has selected a truly extraordinary work from a selection that reveals the talent, depth, creativity and bravery of our contemporary arts sector,” said Liz Cotton, Director of Museum and Arts, Waikato Museum.
“My congratulations go to all award winners and finalists, and deep appreciation to our award sponsors, without whom we would not be able to offer this award, and to our wonderful judge.”
The National Contemporary Art Award was launched in 2000 by the Waikato Society of Arts and has been facilitated and hosted by Waikato Museum since 2006. Leading New Zealand law firm Tompkins Wake is the principal sponsor and has supported the competition since 2014.
This year’s runner-up and winner of the $5,000 Hugo Charitable Trust Award was Sung Hwan Bobby Park for BTM 조상 초상화 Ancestor Portrait (digital photograph). BTM 방탄모is a series of ceramic sculptures and fibre works, that interrogates the South Korean military’s homophobic policies and treatment of LGBTQ+ people.
Friends of Waikato Museum’s $1,000 Merit Award winner was Hannah Ireland for her submission ‘Stained Cheery Wine’ while the Random Art Group $1,000 Merit Award winner was Sara (Hera) Tautuku Orme for ‘Darling, Tēnei Au (photograph).
Visitors can enjoy the artworks at the Waikato Museum where all artworks are on exhibit and available for sale. Entry is free for the exhibition, which runs till November 12, 2023.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
