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Winners

Best Exhibit (youth) Darcie Gravitis

Atmospheric

Ceramic sculpture

The pressure, the tension we are under with the current crisis – the climate crisis – the issue is being buried. I see the sky as a constant reminder… others simply see blue.

Best Exhibit (child) Nathan Kleu, 4 years old

Digger

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Helen Oakley Memorial Prize - Catherine Sykes

The inter-connectedness of our dreams

Wheel-thrown stoneware, glazed and glued with gold and silver dust

Lockdowns made us yearn for connections. I fancied that when we dreamt of another, they too were dreaming of us and so despite separation we were tethered. This was also true of dreaming of the dead, engaging with and enlivening them in our dreams, precious time again together.

Highly commended - Michael Bourke

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Minotaur leaving Stacks Downunder

Acrylic on canvas

On Tuesdays, a minotaur rises from the depths of Stacks Downunder variety store and labyrinth in order to enjoy a counter lunch at the Post Office Hotel.

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Highly commended - Justine Parkins

Me

Soft pastels

Unearthed, the authentic self, the unconditional part, the most beautiful, powerful form… me!

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Highly commended - Sue Nichols

Disturbed

Photograph

An image symbolic of the emotions we may keep hidden beneath the surface until brought to light during trying times.

Recent torrential rains disturbed the earth to reveal what remains of a child’s memory, which was long forgotten and buried beneath the surface.

What emotions does this image conjure in your mind?

Highly commended and People's Choice award - Tanya Stevens

Medicine Wheel

Acrylic on canvas

This painting is about unearthing ancient Aboriginal art, and Gundungurra Heritage from the Blue Mountains which is Ancient, and very rare from the Megalong Valley. I have depicted mountains, a waterhole and campsite.

Commended - Mia Erder (child section)

The struggle of Good vs Evil

Pastel

My artwork represents the earth, sky, good and evil that is in our world.

Commended - Taylor Bourke, Yr 7 Coolah

Landscape

Commended - Nicola Mason

Prop XIX, France

Oil on canvas

This painting is part of a series of twenty little works painted as painting props. These painting props were then placed around my studio on the walls, chairs, shelves and even the floor before being painted again and again as paintings in new painting scenes. These little painting props are of scenes and visions of my time living in France. I enjoyed playing with the yellow underpainting ground in these works. I like the sense of light it brings to them. I hope that these little works may invite the viewer somewhere else within their own thoughts.

Commended - Tina Matthews

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Three Mothers Heading Anywhere but Home

Glassine, shellac, paint, ink, tissue, nylon, lead, steel

During the long covid years I unearthed all kinds of forgotten and unused materials – glassine, shellac, paint, ink, tissue and steel – which I made into a series of mobiles. The idea for the glassine cones emerged from my unconscious mind in a dream. I was teaching a night class, making small black cones from paper, then setting fire to them. The title of this mobile comes from my memory of being a young mother out without my babies and walking free.

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