A photographer mingles amongst the crowd as various artists of Wales gather to find out who is crowned ‘Artist of the Year’. He asks people to stand, smile, then flash, captured. There is various mingling and appreciation as we wander through the exhibition, marvelling at this, and turning our noses up at that.
Trepidation abounds as people mumble to each other, passing opinion on who should or shouldn’t win. The works are certainly varied and I soon find myself joining in with the low mumbles, criticising and praising in equal measure. And all the while, the photographer mingles, snapping and capturing the smiles that secretly hope they’ve won.
An hour from now we will find out that Tim Freeman has won the coveted prize of Wales Artist of the Year, for his excellent Hidden System, but for now, it is held close to the chests of those that announce such a thing. And for now we stand waiting. A jazz band begins to play, signalling the awards are about to begin. And so, with complimentary drinks in hand, we await.
The awards come thick and fast, prizes announced swiftly. Mirroring this are the artist’s short and brief speeches. Shyness seems to be the common theme amongst them as they take to the stage, barely having time to be flashed and captured. Which is strange, because for the sheer talent on display, they’ve got nothing to be shy about.
Awards for Applied Arts, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, Sculpture and Student are all announced and as they are it becomes apparent that there is a predominance of pieces concerned with landscape and nature, and more importantly, our effect on it. It’s nice to see, especially as Wales possesses some vastly beautiful countryside, so to see work showing our impact on it all is extremely needed.
Finally, the main award is announced. Tim Freeman takes to the stage and thanks everyone for their support, rather humbly adding “you know who you are.”
“I’m incredibly honoured to have won,” Tim tells Buzz afterwards, “especially with this year’s selection panel. The work of those involved I very much respect.”
And the work involved in the exhibition is certainly something to behold. There is a vast variety of mediums and techniques on display, further adding to Wales’ reputation as something of a cultural hotbed of late.
“The Welsh art scene is really vibrant and very varied,” Tim continues. “I think it’s great that the art scene here crosses many boundaries. I also think that artist-led initiatives are really strong. This was something which was important to me when I left college as it allowed me to find my feet and offered an atmosphere open to experimentation. This allowed my work to not only develop, but have an audience post-college.”
For those that are yet to take a good look at Tim’s piece, it depicts manmade industrial piping working its way through the gorgeous landscape of the Lake District. It came about when he was taking shots of the Lake District and his mind began to juxtapose the industrial landscapes of back home in South Wales with the idyllic ones that he was standing in.
“The two became a collage in my head,’ he says. “However, it soon became a piece much more about universal ideas of man’s interaction with the environment around us. It could also be read as representative of the physical, theoretical and bureaucratic systems which influence our everyday lives both personally and collectively. Or, in a much more simple way it’s a picture which allows two incompatible subjects to co-exist and I find that contradiction an interesting place for images to come out of.”
And as for the £2,000 prize money.
“Having the title for a year is great. However, the money is a great help. As usual though, with money made from my work, it’ll go back into making more pieces. But the pressure is certainly off for a little while. It’s great stuff.”
Then, as the photographers snap away and the jazz band pipes up, we are encouraged once more to wonder the exhibition. And are told the only award left is the audience award, which is judged by viewers filling in slips and posting them in a specified box at the gallery.
So, can Tim get both the critics and publics choice? Well that lies in the hands of you, so go on, pop along as you have until Sat 25 July to cast your vote. And besides, you’ll get to see some great art in the process.
Full list of winners:
Overall winner/Printmaking Award: Tim Freeman – Hidden System
Runner up/Winner of Photography Award: Fern Thomas – Bird as External Organ
Drawing Award: Owen Griffiths – Salt Field:The Grower
Time-based Media Award: Adele Vye – On Wasting Energy
Applied Arts Award: Nicola Palterman- Aur Du
Painting: Corrie Chiswell-Disillusion
Sculpture Award: James Exton – Nature Conforms
Student Award: Jason Davies – Abstract Systems
Highly Commended
Claudia Lis – White stoneware: celadon glazes
Richard Cox – Naku Boari Rajashtan, Stepwell Series
Rabab Ghazoul – Breeze, For Love’s Sake Take Me Home
James and Tilla Waters – Orange to Grey
Ashraf Hanna – Carved Angular Vessel