Emerging creative practitioners take major honours at the ANNUAL exhibition
Published on the 10 Dec 2020
Two graduating students have taken a big step toward launching their careers at the annual end of year showcase for UNSW School of Art & Design.
Keep the names Jasmin Pilatos and Evie Jeffrey on your radar as ones to watch, with the UNSW School of Art & Design graduating students set to make waves after being awarded major prizes at the A&D ANNUAL exhibition.
The emerging creatives were awarded the top honours for their works in arts and design respectively. They will look to follow in the footsteps of the numerous artists, designers, makers and digital media creators who exhibited before them and launched their careers at the end of year showcase.
A highlight on Sydney’s cultural calendar, the A&D ANNUAL exhibition is the largest national showcase of graduate contemporary art and design. The exhibition presents more than 150 works across a range of disciplines including animation, film, photography, sound, digital media and graphic design, as well as painting, sculpture, object design, printmaking, textiles, spatial design, ceramics, jewellery, and more.
Ms Pilatos, Bachelor of Media Arts (Honours), was awarded the TWT Excellence Prize as the top graduating artist, generously supported since 2017 by the Bridging Hope Charity Foundation and TWT Property Group. The prize includes a $3000 bursary and studio at St Leonards Creative Precinct for a year.
Ms Jeffrey, Bachelor of Design (Honours), was recognised as the inaugural Christopher Doyle & Co Prize, supported by the Sydney-based independent creative studio. The prize is awarded to an outstanding emerging design practitioner, and also includes a $3,000 bursary.
Ms Pilatos’ work, Entasis, explores the relationship between natural light, illusion and architecture within everyday life through the medium of moving image. Employing an abstract approach to filmmaking, her project is founded in the study of phenomenology, investigating the experience and meaning of space through the involvement of emotions, imagination, memory, consciousness and senses as opposed to purely analytical reasoning.
“The work is restricted to using only natural light to light through the scenes to explore the interactions of those themes,” Ms Pilatos said. “The ultimate goal is to encourage the audience to re-evaluate the way they navigate the private and public spaces they share in the world.”
In a statement, the judging panel said: “Jasmin’s moving image work, Entasis, is beautifully shot and edited, with a strong relationship between sound and image. The work is meditative and reflective, with a focus on interior spaces that resonates powerfully with the circumstances of 2020.”
Ms Jeffrey’s work, Connecting the Threads, expands on her practice in graphics and textile design, taking inspiration from the social environment, interaction, sustainability and inequality. The program aims to develop the participant’s dressmaking skills, enabling them to reinvent garments and recycle fashion through an interactive journal. Her work also formed a creative community that provides a safe space for women experiencing homelessness and unemployment.
“The idea behind the revamp manual was to try to make a collection of clothing that would turn from business attire to casual wear, and from there, that’s how the creative community Connecting the Threads came about,” she said.
Ms Jeffrey says her work also speaks to the potential of deconstructing and reinventing second-hand clothing.
“Think twice about throwing out your own clothes – you can always reinvent into something new and even better than before,” she said. “Your clothes have so much life after the fashion’ expiry date’, you just have to change a few elements.”
“Combining graphic design, textile/garment design and process design to reinvent garments in a timely and polished outcome that includes garment prototyping and visual communication. All elements of the design hold their own and the process whilst refined is non-prescriptive and open ended allowing communities of like minded people to gather, share and reinvent existing garments,” the judging panel said.
The winning works were selected by the 2020 judging panel comprised of UNSW School of Art & Design academic staff, esteemed artists and practitioners in the field led by Deputy Head of School (Design) Dr Mark Ian Jones and Deputy Head of School (Art) Dr Grant Stevens.
The TWT Excellence Prize shortlist included graduating artists Monika Cvitanovic Zaper, Dilara Niriella, Josephine Pereira and Niamh Kennedy. The Christopher Doyle & Co Design Prize Shortlist included emerging designers Harris Wang, Laura Hunt and Isabella Lowe.
The judges acknowledged the resilience of the graduates and quality of work across the ANNUAL despite the unprecedented challenges of 2020.
This year, the exhibition takes place across the entire of UNSW Galleries, as well as online, allowing all graduating practitioners the chance to celebrate their achievements and showcase their works to the broader community.
“UNSW School of Art & Design has an outstanding record for producing critically acclaimed artists and designers, and the ANNUAL 20 exemplifies this,” said Dean Professor Claire Annesley. “We are proud to produce the next generation of cutting-edge artists and designers.”
The A&D ANNUAL Exhibition is presented across UNSW Galleries from 9 – 17 December 2020. The online gallery of graduate works is also available to view now.
