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The Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing is an annual award presented by Sydney’s Presbyterian Ladies’ College through the continued generous support of the Parents and Friends’ Association.
Artist and architect Professor Richard Goodwin was the guest judge of this year’s award, announcing Kendal Heyes the winner of the $25,000 acquisitive prize for his work titled, Boat 1 (2017).
Heyes says that the image is based on a news photograph of a refugee boat, blown up through the process of drawing until it becomes deliberately ambiguous. In doing this, Heyes hopes his work will be a “reminder of the issue, without being an overt political statement. By becoming slightly obscure in terms of its specificity (when you get close it dissolves into a sea of dots) the image draws you in,” he said.
Kendal Heyes, Boat, 1, 2017, ink on paper
“A drawing is an autobiographical record of one’s discovery of an event – either seen, remembered or imagined. A ‘finished’ work is an attempt to construct an event in itself”. – John Berger (1926-2017), critic and author
Mark Hetherington, Curator at Adelaide Perry Gallery believes this year’s exhibition of finalists reflects the forementioned sentiment, “In presenting their drawings, these artists offer us a myriad of ideas, experiences, open up dialogues and opportunities in which to engage with a rich vocabulary of visual expression.”
Works by all 46 finalists in the ‘Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2017 Exhibition’ are currently on show at the Adelaide Perry Gallery, Sydney. At the close of the exhibition a people’s choice award of $2,000 will be awarded to the finalist’s work voted most favourite by gallery visitors.
