Emma Hercus in her studio at Holtom's Art Studio in Paekākāriki. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Emma Hercus in her studio at Holtom's Art Studio in Paekākāriki. Photo / Rosalie Willis
An experimental work by multimedia Porirua artist Emma Hercus has won the prestigious $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award for a "majestically layered" assemblage work titled Red Handed.
Working and exhibiting from her studio space at Holtom's Art Studio in Paekākāriki, Emma uses the studio to produce experimental and abstract figurative pieces while also studying at The Learning Connection in Lower Hutt.
"The day when I painted Red Handed I was going crazy doing all sorts of abstract stuff. I must have painted five pieces already that day," Emma said.
Red Handed by Emma Hercus.
"Often you enter art competitions and you don't even get made a finalist so it was just exciting to be a finalist.
"When they were reading out the winner and said my name I couldn't believe it, I didn't think it would be me.
"I just thought it would be nice to go up and meet the other artists - it's great to talk to people who are doing the same thing as you and learn about their practice, how they do it, how they sell it and make a living out of it and that kind of stuff.
"So to win was really cool, it was so fun. I had my mum there and she was super excited."
Emma Hercus with the original linen used to create her award winning art. Photo / Rosalie Willis
Judge Reuben Patterson, one of the country's top contemporary artists, said the experimental process used by Emma to create Red Handed resulted in a work that exists as "a celebration of adversity".
Emma's original idea was to paint on a piece of linen she had soaked in a bucket.
Placing it on top of a piece of old MDF so she wouldn't get paint on the floor, Emma started painting a swimmer.
Placed face down, the linen absorbs an image, like the Shroud of Turin.
It collects the exploits and remnants of surroundings, or of the night before, collecting hairs and souvenirs of tape and collage that make reference to bodies violently surrendering to arrest and control.
When Emma pulled the linen off the MDF, the effect on the board beneath was too good to discard.
"When I lifted off the linen, what the paint had done underneath was so amazing, I only had to do a few minor changes to it after that, straight onto the board.
"I started out painting a swimmer but when I saw the hands had turned out quite red and were in the air, I thought it looked as if the person has been caught doing something red-handed.
"But people put their hands in the air for so many reasons, it could be in welcome, in prayer, being arrested, I wanted it to be ambiguous and for people to decide for themselves."
"When I was thinking about it, I just wanted it to be any person, for the viewer to make up their own story."
Emma often gives no specific gender or race in her abstract figurative pieces.
"Generally with my work, I like to give people a few ideas but I want to hear their own interpretations and what they think it's about.
"Often it's way cooler than what I originally intended anyway."
Emma's winning work was selected by judge Reuben Paterson and was announced over the weekend at the 2022 National Contemporary Art Award at Hamilton's Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga O Waikato.
Through the National Contemporary Art Award's traditional blind-judging process (concealing the artist names from the judge), Red Handed was chosen from 34 finalists and more than 300 entries.
All of the finalist works are now on display in a free exhibition at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato until November 13.
