Prize Winners for Uig Open 2020 exhibition

Announcement

Thank you to everyone who has voted and viewed this first Uig Open, and a special thank you to all the artists who have submitted work and supported this project in very difficult times. I hope you have all enjoyed the online experience. 

I am delighted to announce that we had 2210 votes cast for the 'Public Choice Prize' and the overall winner was Fire And Desire XXVII by J.(Jie) Li. A Chinese-American artist based in New York, her work is abstract, powerful and full of desire and life. 

The 'Curator's Choice Purchase Prize' was a very personal decision and goes to 36,500 by Paulo Mankini. A choice heavily influenced by personal concerns over the current Covid-19 pandemic. This work, although completed in 2014 resonates with the current use of statistics to illustrate death rates each month as we slowly progress through this crisis. 

Andy Laffan (Curator)

Public Choice Prize

Fire And Desire XXVII by J.(Jie) Li

Watercolor on Arches paper
h: 114 w: 102 (cms).
Desire is the power of life instinct. It’s like a fire, more like wildfire or volcano eruption. The fire of desire, which constantly arises, also continue to change with the environment expand. Fire and Desire describes and expresses that the fire of desire is a driving force of life, but it could be the source of destruction too.
 

Curators Choice Purchase Prize

36,500 by Paulo Mankini

Pencil on Paper

h: 30 w: 21 (cms).

This drawing is part of a limited edition entitled 36,500. It comprises of 471 separate and unique artworks and all connected.
There are 36,500 lines and spaces in total. That’s how long we all have. Up to 100 years. 36,500 days. Most have less than this time. Some have more.
Each line is a distinct day and a moment in time, which we choose to use or abuse. To use or to waste. We sleep in between. Our bodies need the rest. That’s the gap, in between the lines. Our dreams helping us make sense of all that’s happened and getting us ready for the next day.
The viewer has to count their own life, if they wanted a precise view of the artwork. And really understand their own mortality. This quiet counting and contemplation could send some people mad, with a miscount sending them back to the beginning or give someone a sense of mediation. Giving gratitude to every day lived and survived.
A quiet contemplation of what the future held. When would their last line be drawn? When would it end? Do they have 10,000 days ahead or just 5,000? What are they going to do with these days? Does it change their perspective? Does it feel like a lot or a little?