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24-YEAR OLD STUDENT WINS SOUTH AFRICA’S TOP ART AND DESIGN CONTEST At a gala event held at the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery in April 2018, upcoming young artist Chris Soal was announced as the overall winner of the PPC Imaginarium Awards 2018. The 24-year-old sculptor, a fine arts graduate from the University of the Witwatersrand, garnered R150 000 in prize money, and participation in an eightmonth-long nationwide travelling exhibition. Soal’s winning piece, entitled, ‘Imposed Structure to the Detriment of the Members’, consists of cement cast into the shape of a deflated and scuffed soccer ball, through which a construction rebar has been forced. This sculpture lies on the floor, leaning up against the wall, as dejected, pierced and deflated as abandoned soccer balls often are. The work speaks not only to the realities of growing up in a city environment, where soccer is played in the streets, on concrete and tar, but also to the relationship of soccer to South African industry. One example of this relationship is the 2010 FIFA World Cup. To this day, questions are posed regarding the event’s benefit for the country. Soal’s artwork was chosen as the winner by the PPC Imaginarium Awards national judging panel. The panel includes globally acclaimed contemporary artist Mary Sibande and Daniel van der Merwe (who heads the PPC Imaginarium Awards), in addition to renowned local artist Stephen Hobbs and UJ Art Gallery curator, Annali Dempsey, bringing a wealth
Top to bottom The overall winning submission to the PPC Imaginarium Awards 2018 was artist Chris Soal's sculpture, ‘Imposed Structure to the Detriment of the Members'; Aleks Ashton won the jewellery category with 'Tiara of the Heart and Head'; winner of the fashion category was Gabrielle Foulis with 'The Art of Destruction'
Runner-up: Daniella Sachs Fashion Winner: Gabrielle Foulis Runner-up: Nangamso Dana Sculpture Winner: Chris Soal Runner-up: Franli Meintjes Industrial Design Winner: Giovanni Zambri Runner-up: Anton van Reenen Film Winner: Phumulani Ntuli
of industry know-how to the judging of South Africa’s top art and design contest. The national judges were also responsible for choosing the various category winners and runners-up are: Jewellery Winner: Aleks Ashton
46 LEADINGARCHITECTURE & DESIGN APRIL/MAY 2018
Each of the category winners received R50 000 in cash with the runners-up getting R15 000, bringing the total prize money for the competition to half-a-millionrand. These winners were chosen from a record number of 62 national finalists from 302 regional entrants, topping last year’s number, which saw 55 finalists chosen from 869 regional entries. The awards programme has been in existence for four years, with entrants submitting work across a number of categories, including film, fashion, sculpture, jewellery, industrial
design and architecture. Unlike in previous years, entries in the Architecture category will be showcased and judged at the 2018 Architecture ZA conference, replacing the prestigious Des Baker Award for outstanding work by an architecture student. “The winner will be seen as the best design student currently enrolled for a degree in architecture,” says Van der Merwe. Works by all the national finalists, including the winners, will be on exhibition at the UJ Art Gallery until 25 April 2018. The finalists’ work will form part of the awards’ prestigious travelling exhibition, visiting platforms like the Turbine Art Fair and 100% Design South Africa 2018 in Gauteng, the AVA Gallery in Cape Town, and the KZNSA Gallery in Durban. “The initiative has enabled and empowered more artists and designers than any comparable project in South Africa,” states Van der Merwe. www.ppcimaginarium.co.za