Royal Society of Sculptor's member Nicola Anthony has been shortlisted for The Sovereign Asian Art Prize 2020. View her artwork 'Poetry Net (I)' and the finalists exhibition online through a virtual exhibition. The artworks are now available to bid on at the Christies online auction.
'Poetry Net (I)' at first appears to be a tangled fishing net but on closer inspection it reveals itself to be the very finely cut text of a poem with letters only 6mm high.
The icon of the fishing net acts as a symbol of the global migrant crisis which has left families stranded and drowning - referring to the tension between capturing, saving, rescuing, imprisoning or providing, as well as the many migrant escape boats which continue to be in peril.
These pieces have taken over five years to compose. The research process involved collecting stories and testimonies via interviews conducted across Asia over the past 6 years, gathering individual testimonies and collective memory. Anthony focuses on migrants who are disenfranchised or displaced, noting repeatedly that even in the darkest times, communities and individuals expressed thoughts about hope, love, and home. These concepts are vital to human existence, and helped them survive.
The Sovereign Asian Art Prize is recognised as the most prestigious prize in it's field and region.
Held annually, the Sovereign Asian Art Prize invites mid-career contemporary artists - nominated by a carefully selected board of independent art experts from the region - to enter up to three artworks. Entries are then shortlisted by a small judging panel consisting of world-class art specialists, who select the best 30 artworks to be exhibited in a prominent public space in Hong Kong, where the pieces are judged a second time, in person.
The public exhibition of the 30 finalists will be held at K11 ATELIER, Hong Kong, from June 6th - July 19th. There is also a virtual exhibition taking place.
