National winners of IHC Telecom Art Awards

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Media release
Embargoed until 7pm, Monday 9 July 2007

The winners of the 2007 IHC Telecom Art Awards were announced today at a special function and auction held at the Auckland Museum.

Paul Sedgwick from Hamilton won first prize and $5000 for his painting "Town Planning". Aucklander Peggy Leung was second with her painting called "Beautiful Girl" and won $2000. Third equal were Christopher Wright from Oamaru for his sculpture "Waitaki Girls Waitaki Boys", and Cherie Mellsopp, Hamilton, for her "Untitled Packaging". Christopher and Cherie won $1000 each.

The judging panel comprised Dunedin-based artist Laurence Fearnley, artist and Elam School of Fine Arts senior lecturer Denys Watkins and Wairarapa designer and artist Gavin Chilcott.

Denys Watkins said he was impressed that art once regarded by artists as "outsider" work is now in an art exhibition in the Auckland Museum.

Laurence Fearnley said she saw a pride in the work and an awareness that the artists were good at what they do.

"People are saying they do art because it makes them happy. The need to create is innate. Art is a great communicator. But there is a gutsiness and an honesty in the work as well," she said.

All three judges agreed that Paul Sedgwick's work was the standout winner.

Judge Gavin Chilcott said that Paul Sedgwick had an interesting use of words. "There is a lot of word painting going on nowadays, but this has a logic behind it. It shows his travels."

Denys Watkins described it as sophisticated and engaging. "We were taken by the graphic invention of shapes and forms."

The judges said that Beautiful Girl by Peggy Leung portrayed a real sense of people looking back at you.

"It was like a gathering crowd all focused on one thing, with their eyes all looking in one direction. The colours are like children's paintings, like flowers, all growing in one direction.

"Cherie Mellsopp's Untitled Packaging is attractive in its simplicity. It uses a repetitive motif on a very everyday object, a brown paper bag. It shows three dimensional form without being pretentious."

Waitaki Boys, Waitaki Girls by Christopher Wright is a carving from Oamaru stone showing Waitaki Boys College on one side and Waitaki Girls College on the other side.

The judges described it as a translation of observations. "He obviously looked carefully at the buildings. It's nice to see a bit of Oamaru stone looking like Oamaru stone. He looked at the originals but didn't try to make it perfectly accurate."

The IHC Telecom Art Awards are part of Telecom's Community Connection sponsorship programme which provides voluntary welfare and charitable organisations with up to $5 million in support each year.

The exhibition of the 30 finalists' artworks continues in the Tamaki Gallery at the Auckland Museum until 2 September, or can be viewed online at www.ihc.org.nz

ENDS

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