National New Media
Art Award 2012
The biennial acquisitive award program that began in 2008 included
the $75 000 New Media Art Award, the exhibition of works by selected
finalists, as well as the Queensland New Media Scholarship for an
emerging Queensland-based artist to develop their arts practice.
The 2012 National New Media Art
Award shortlisted artists included
Kirsty Boyle, Karen Casey, Robin
Fox, Petra Gemeinboeck and Rob
Saunders, Ian Haig, Leah Heiss, Ross
Manning and George Poonkhin Khut.
The judging panel of Suhanya
Raffel, Acting Director, QAGOMA;
Amy Barrett Lennard, Director
Perth Institute of Contemporary
Arts and Daniel Crooks, new media
artist selected George Poonkhin
Khut’s
Distillery (Ensemble)
2012
as the winning work. The committee
members said that Khut’s winning
entry
Distillery: Waveforming
2012
poetically explored the interactions
between the mind and body; art
and science. By visually displaying
the viewer’s heartbeat the work
instantly responds to their changing
reactions, creating a continuous
biofeedback loop.
The work was originally developed
as a relaxation training system
for managing pain and anxiety
experienced by children undergoing
medical treatment. The judges
commended Khut’s creative
approach to experimental research
and the great potential it showed
for other applications.
The selection committee also highly
commended Kirsty Boyle’s
Tree
ceremony
2010, which they said
engaged beautifully with the history
and cultural implications of robotics;
and Robin Fox’s
CRT: h’ommage
to Léon Theremin
2012, a subtle
re-viewing of an obsolete media and
a sophisticated yet playful interactive
installation.The judges all noted
how difficult the selection process
had been due to the exceptionally
high standard of work this year,
and congratulated the curators and
all the exhibiting artists. Svenja
Kratz was the recipient of the 2012
Queensland New Media Scholarship.
The National New Media Art Award
was the most significant new media
award in the country and in 2012 was
the final in the three-exhibition series.
3 AUGUST – 4 NOVEMBER 2012
GOMA
18
// REWIND
/ REVIEW 2012
