Waikanae artist Morag Stokes highly commended at Parkin Drawing Prize

Morag Stokes with her artwork, OSTINATO.

Using condoms to create art, a Waikanae artist has won herself a highly commended award in the Parkin Drawing Prize.

Morag Stokes said she was thrilled to have won the commendation, and the $500 prize, but it came as quite a surprise as she had been a finalist six times and had “become very accustomed to not winning anything”.

The artwork she entered was called OSTINATO and was made with Chinese ink and graphite on a synthetic paper called Yupo. The tools she used were ribbed condoms, inflated to different degrees.

The inspiration for this piece came from Stokes’ interest in the materiality of art and “how materials behave when given a chance to express themselves”.

“I’ve discovered that the marks I can make with variously inflated ribbed condoms are quite extraordinary when I work on a very smooth surface, so my Parkin piece is an exploration of that.”

Morag Stokes' artwork, OSTINATO.

She said much of her art mainly involves rhythmic, almost meditative processes and OSTINATO is no exception.

“The title OSTINATO came from my recognition that rhythm and repetition are important in my work and can take me into a somewhat altered state of consciousness which is when my experimentation becomes art.”

While Stokes couldn’t quite remember what Justin Paton said when he was judging her piece due to the state of shock she was in at the award ceremony, she said she did remember that his description of her work was “delightful and eloquent”.

She said she didn’t think her win would impact her career much, as she had won other awards in the past and that never resulted in “hordes beating a path to my door”.

“Any changes [to my career] will depend on how others respond to this work getting a tick of approval in such a prestigious show, and any opportunities or diversions that come my way will be welcome.”

She said she would be keeping her expectations very moderated and just get on with what she does – painting, drawing and teaching.

“That brings me a lot of pleasure already.”

All the artworks in the Parkin Drawing Prize exhibition will now be available for purchase.

The Parkin Drawing Prize exhibition will run from Tuesday, August 6 until Sunday, September 8 at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington.