Birgit Moffatt is a first-time finalist in the Parkin Drawing Prize.
Birgit Moffatt is a first-time finalist in the Parkin Drawing Prize.
Two Kāpiti artists have been selected as finalists in the annual Parkin Drawing Prize.
There were 463 entries for the prize, with 77 works making the shortlist. The winner will receive $25,000 and there will be 10 highly commended prizes of $500.
Ōtaki artist Birgit Moffatt has been following the Parkin Drawing Prize for a couple of years and has entered unsuccessfully once before – this is her first time as a finalist.
“Even though it is one of the most prestigious art awards in Aotearoa, with an incredibly high number of entries, there’s always the hope of getting in. And much to my surprise, I did.”
Her work Shaping Identity in this year’s competition is a large installation of cast paper on original Berlin cobblestones, which is especially important to Moffatt as she is from Berlin originally, infused with earth pigments from around New Zealand.
“The installation draws on how place and time continually shape who we are as human beings.”
Moffatt’s art typically uses natural elements to create three-dimensional drawings, sculptures and art installations, and she said her style had become more minimalist in recent years.
She said she approached her work with respect to the lane in her material choice and studio practice.
Moffatt said she didn’t really get into art until 2011 after she immigrated to New Zealand.
“Inspired by Māori art and the craftmanship within my own whānau, I was taught raranga (weaving) and completed a four-year Bachelor of Visual Arts at Whitireia.”
Moffatt has a solo exhibition coming up in August at the Pataka art gallery in Porirua, and she has been awarded the Object Maker Aotearoa Fellowship which is a two-year mentorship programme allowing her to focus on deepening and expanding her art practice.
Waikanae artist Morag Stokes found out she was a finalist from her husband who was in Seattle at the time and happened to catch wind of the news before her.
Morag Stokes is a finalist in the Parkin Drawing Prize. Photo / Rosalie Willis
“I was delighted as I love the show and this is my sixth time as a finalist.”
Her artwork is called OSTINATO and the medium is Chinese ink and graphite on a synthetic paper called Yupo. The drawing tools were ribbed condoms, inflated to different degrees.
“My inspiration comes from exploratory mark-making and the joy of discovery, often influenced by the music I’m listening to while working.”
Stokes said she had been making drawings using graphite and Chinese ink applied with inflated condoms for some years now, and over that time she had become increasingly aware that there were patterns and rhythms that were very characteristic of this medium and the physicality of her application.
“I work with dance-like movements and satisfactory drawings only emerge after I’ve been in a rhythmic and meditative state for some time, usually hours. Like a repeated rhythmic chord or melody in music, this improvised work represents the lyrical patterning, gestures and forms that underpin my approach to drawing in this medium.”
Stokes said she had always been creative and had wanted to be an artist “when she grew up”.
“My high school careers officer advised against it on the grounds that it would bring nothing but poverty. I was also keen on the sciences, so I went down that line. It was only when I came to New Zealand 24 years ago that I began some serious dabbling with paint.”
This led to Stokes gaining an Advanced Diploma in Art and Creativity and certification to work as an artist educator with Golden Artist Colors.
She is currently preparing for the Kāpiti Coast Art Trail in November, which she has been part of for more than three years.
The Parkin Prize national competition, now in its 12th year, was founded in 2012 and has been supported by arts patron Chris Parkin since then.
The winner will be selected and announced by New Zealand writer, art critic and curator Justin Paton, who is head curator of international art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Paton will announce the winner and highly commended recipients at the gala opening of the Parkin Drawing Prize exhibition at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington on Monday, August 5.
The Parkin Drawing Prize exhibition will run until Sunday, September 1, at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington. For the full shortlist visit https://parkinprize.nz/
