New South Wales-based artist George Poonkhin Khut was today named the winner of the $75,000 National New Media Art Award 2012 at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art.
QAGOMA Acting Director Suhanya Raffel said Khut was one of eight finalists short-listed for the prestigious national award, whose work is on display in the award exhibition at GOMA until November 4.
'His winning entry Distillery: Waveforming 2012, which will be acquired for the QAGOMA Collection, consists of a clip-on heart monitor, tablet computer and a program that shows the viewer a visual interpretation of their beating heart,' Ms Raffel said.
'The judging panel said Khut's work poetically explored the interactions between the mind and body, and 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 the 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.'
Ms Raffel said the selection committee also highly commended Kirsty Boyle's Tree ceremony, which they said engaged beautifully with the history and cultural implications of robotics; and Robin Fox's CRT: homage to Léon Theremin, a subtle re-viewing of obsolete media, and a sophisticated yet playful interactive installation.
The artists short-listed for the 2012 National New Media Art Award and featured in the exhibition are Kirsty Boyle (Qld); Karen Casey (Vic); Robin Fox (Vic); Petra Gemeinboeck and Rob Saunders (NSW); Ian Haig (Vic); Leah Heiss (Vic); Ross Manning (Qld); and George Poonkhin Khut (NSW).
'The National New Media Art Award, the most significant prize for new media art in the country, celebrated the skill and creativity of Australian artists working in challenging and innovative ways with a range of new technologies including digital animation, robotics, light and sound sculpture and interactive media,' Ms Raffel said.
In addition to the main prize, the National New Media Art Award also incorporates the Queensland New Media Scholarship, which is now open for entries.
'This $25,000 travel and study scholarship for an emerging new media artist living and working in Queensland aims to foster and assist in developing aspects of creative practice in new media,' Ms Raffel said.
Entries for the scholarship close on September 14 and the successful applicant will be announced on October 22.
Judging this year's Award were QAGOMA Acting Director Suhanya Raffel; Amy Barrett Lennard, Director, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts; and Daniel Crooks, new media artist.
The National New Media Art Award is a three award program first held in 2008, comprising a biennial acquisitive Award, the exhibition at GOMA and scholarship. The 2012 Award and Scholarship concludes the program.
'This Award has been an important initiative for artists working in new media, an area strongly supported and recognised by the Gallery, especially since the opening of GOMA, which contains a dedicated exhibition space for new media exhibitions,' Ms Raffel said. |
