The judges congratulated the winner of the City of Stirling’s First Artistic Prize for presenting a “familiar and strange” depiction of the Scarborough foreshore.
Annette Peterson, of Padbury, was named the Acquisitive Laureate at the 2021 Art Awards and Exhibition, which includes $ 7,500 in prizes and an automatic acquisition in the city’s art collection.
The biennial exhibition, held in the city’s civic reception hall, features 160 shortlisted artists, including painted, sculptural, drawn, mixed media and digital works.
Entitled Shotgun Through Scarborough, Peterson’s digital work is based on a three-second “live” photo she took using an Apple iPhone.
Peterson then broke down the moving photo into 77 frames, which she recreated in 77 oil paintings. She then filmed each painting consecutively to reintegrate the work in digital form using stop-motion.
“Shotgun Through Scarborough is an exploration of digital, everyday life and painting. Due to the technology at hand of the iPhone, documenting everyday moments through photography and film is now a daily occurrence, ”said Peterson.
“I am motivated to document by painting the daily activity of driving and the things I perceive while driving.
“Through painting, I aim to capture fleeting and emotional moments, impossible to capture or recall once the destination has been reached. These phenomenological moments influence my experience of the car journey, whether I drive or be a passenger.
“I had already completed two other similar series, set in my local suburb, and knew they had succeeded in achieving a media transition that was aesthetically beautiful while stimulating perception.”
Peterson said his latest project took 77 days to paint, only having Christmas Day and New Years in the process.
“This series was created to celebrate our West Coast Highway,” she said.
“There is something really special about driving on a summer afternoon – no matter how nostalgic – and seeing the iconic Scarborough Beach shoreline entrance with the Clock Tower in the distance.
“On the radio at the time, George Ezra’s Shotgun was playing, which really made the experience better.”
The jury said the artwork was “unique in its presentation” as a mobile format.
“Scarborough’s foreshore looks both familiar and eerie in this bustling archive,” they said.
“It is the result of a unique combination of the slow genre of traditional oil painting combined with the speed of animation.
“Thanks to this transformation, the“ everyday ”becomes magical. Fragments of the scene are captured through the car window as we drive through the suburbs. “
Peterson said that after winning the Acquisitive Award, she was confident that she would be able to complete her new solo shows scheduled for next year.
“It has been a real blessing to receive such a great award and I am very grateful that this work is appreciated,” she said.
2019 Acquisitive Prize winner Damien Goerke received this year’s second prize and a $ 2,500 prize for his work Are You Going To Color It In? Which represented 300 hours of drawing over six months.
The third prize and a prize of $ 1,500 went to Jennifer Cochrane for her sculptural work Self-Portrait with Jarrah Railway Sleeper.
Other top winners include Richard Aitken for the City of Stirling 50th Anniversary Local Visions Award, Ben Brennan for the Local Artist Award, and Lachlan Scotford and Nikki Singh who jointly won the Young Artist Award.
Visitors to the exhibit, which runs daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sunday, can also vote for the People’s Choice Award.
