2015 Yen STAEDTLER Art Awards FInalists

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2 015 F I N A L I S T S

After much deliberation we’re pleased to announce the...

2015 STAEDTLER YEN FEMALE ART AWARD FINALISTS (in alphabetical order)

Amy Blue

Objectifying Seinfeld

Clare Brady

The Perfect Balance

Annie Comelli

Annie’s Fannie

Anna Gareeva Лисичка Carolyn Hawkins

Scrunchie

Annaliesa Horne Jessica Kease

(The Fox)

Bear

Deflated Ego

Sian Kelly

Halo

Amber Koroluk Stephenson

Beyond the Pale

Ella Grace Lister

Evanescence

Miranda Lorikeet

Dive//Survive

Sophie Loxton

Mouths Wide Shut

Giselle Martin Nicola Mitchell

Dreamlike state

Helen Proctor

Stoop #4

Jasmine Radakovic

Female Form

Janina Schneider Eliza Slater

Lunar

B e K i n d T o Yo u r F o o d

Chloe Vallance Louise Zhang

Us

Journey Home

...it came from Goo Lagoon

yenmag.net

Amy Blue Objectifying Seinfeld This is a watercolour illustration of objects that are notoriously known from the hit TV show, Seinfeld. I drew the Seinfeld gang last year, but really wanted to draw some of the objects because it’s almost as if they’re characters too. Unfortunately the marble rye didn’t make it to the table. I honestly laughed so much while working on this project.

About the Artist Amy Blue is an illustrator based in Sydney. She creates drawings based on real life situations with a focused discipline in portraiture. Amy’s illustrations serve as a personal journey with universal themes such as popular culture and mundane objects we live with. Amy has exhibited in many group shows and had her first solo show last year at Kinokunyia. etsy.com/uk/shop/AmyBlueIllustration

Clare Brady The Perfect Balance The Perfect Balance was created in honour of my baby sister, who recently turned 21. Coming into our lives when we were already established as a family, we never realised just how much she would enrich our lives, and in turn, create an even more harmonious balance. The piece is graphite on A2 220 GSM paper.

About the Artist From the second I could pick up a pencil, I was hooked on drawing. Working across a range of mediums, I strive to make my work clean, highly toned with a hint of allegory. Influenced by nature and folktales, I aim to create art that is not only unique but has its own sense of quirk and irony. But it must always, always, tell a story. instagram.com/clarebradyillustration

Annie Comelli Annie’s Fannie A Body of work that explores myself as a woman. This body of a work is a self-portrait. This work explores with embroidery, a medium I’ve fallen in love with. Through this work I look at the interiors of my body, being the genital anatomy, and the exteriors being the vulva’s stitched onto underwear. I am interested in presenting a side of myself that people don’t see through my artwork.

About the Artist Annie Comelli is a young artist living in Adelaide who loves to explore with self-exploration of her own body into her artwork. She loves being able to show a part of herself to others in her artwork.

Annie loves to explore with any medium she can get her hands on but has recently fallen in love with embroidery, which is the current medium she’s exploring with.

Anna Gareeva Лисичка ( T h e F o x ) This poster is part of the series ‘The Little Prince’ inspired by the original novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. A combination of traditionally drawn lines and digital colour created the Fox and the whimsical, vivid world within which she lives. Each symbol (mushroom, colour, type) refers specifically to a memory, influential artist or an imaginary construction only made possible in this world.

About the Artist I’m Ania. I was born and spent my childhood in Russia. Through symbols, references and allusions, my historical background constantly feeds into the images I create. Influences include Soviet films, classical literature and early memories. I aim to visually captivate an imaginary world inhibited by motifs representing my interests, experiences, contemplations. I invite you into this universe. inkyhaus.tumblr.com

Carolyn Hawkins Scrunchie ‘Scrunchie’ is a copper plate etching on cotton rag paper. The subject of the work is a hair scrunchie from my childhood, and acts as a relic of another time and place. Through the act of drawing and printing, this work reflects upon the malleable and changeable nature of memory, and the relationship between objects and personal history.

About the Artist I am a Melbourne-based printmaker and illustrator, and have been crafting, drawing, and creating since I can remember. I am inspired by old houses, trinkets, and the nostalgia I feel for my childhood. I have recently finished my honours year in Fine Art, and have exhibited in a number of group and solo shows. carolyn-hawkins.com

Annaliesa Horne Bear This felt-tip pen artwork is 1 of 4 in a series called ‘Instinct’. I have taken my inspiration from photographs of animals and have used negative space to express their raw power when threatened.

About the Artist Apart from playing soccer, eating noodles and looking after my pet dogs, birds and quails, I do the odd drawing. I’m a 22-yearold student from Sydney studying teaching; sometimes I study but most of the time I draw. I work with felt-tip pens because of the texture and shading they create. I love to experiment with various styles of art especially surrealism and photorealism. instagram.com/annahliesa

Jessica Kease Deflated Ego I’ve been exploring the idea of ‘ego’ for roughly a year now. This work concentrates on the ego of stencil/street artists and affiliates it with those of professional athletes and ‘ballers’. It’s the final work in a series of works created for my solo show last year, titled “Keezus”, which explored ego and the inner battle we have with who we are, who we are perceived to be, and how they differ.

About the Artist Winner of the 2011 and 2014 Stencil Art prize, Jess began her foray into stencil art in 2005, first exhibiting her work in 2008, and has spent most of her time toiling over a table ever since. Under the pseudonym 23rd Key, she creates photo-realistic stencils, taking no short cuts and cutting everything by hand.

23rdkey.com

Sian Kelly Halo Halo is the result of procrastination during my HSC year. It was just the result of doodling on really good quality paper with Artline pens I ‘borrowed’ from my school, and this is what came out of my subconscious. I really enjoy making artworks in this method as they come out more genuine than planned artworks. It also portrays my obsession with the juxtaposition of minimalism and detail.

About the Artist 19 years old, and having just commenced a BFA (honours) at UNSW art and design, I have wanted to become an artist since before I can remember. I have only ever been exhibited once before, at Artexpress2015. My medium of choice is drawing, but I really want to get into ceramics and sculpture as well. sianjulia.tumblr.com

Amber Koroluk Stephenson Beyond the Pale My work explores western utopian aspirations, the suburban facade, and the relationships between natural and manmade environments. My paintings use saturated colours and shifting pictorial planes to obscure familiar albeit strange environments. In this way my work contrasts the banal with the strange, presenting slippages within everyday fantasies.

About the Artist I am an emerging artist based in Hobart and my practice spans painting, photography, drawing and collage. I completed a BFA with Honours at UTAS in 2010. I have exhibited in numerous solo and group shows in Tasmania, Sydney and internationally including Bett Gallery, MOP Projects, Plimsoll Gallery, Sawtooth ARI, Salamanca Arts Centre, and Archive Space. I am represented by Bett Gallery, Hobart. koroluk-stephenson.com.au

Ella Grace Lister Evanescence For many, ice-cream represents the happy memories and recollections of childhood. But no matter how much you try hold onto it, or wish you could freeze time, the sweet moments will melt away. This artwork was inspired by the transient nature and memories of childhood in which ice-cream is a symbol, not only of childhood but how long it lasts.

About the Artist I am an 18 year old Sydney based artist. Commonly known as the ‘ice cream girl’ due to my obsession with drawing, painting, and eating ice cream. I am often found painting with watercolors and I also enjoy drawing large chalk drawings as my preferred mediums. I deferred my study of Fine Arts until next year. Currently I am traveling, painting, interning and enjoying life.

Miranda Lorikeet Dive//Survive This is an MS Paint drawing about taking a leap of faith.

Sometimes we must take a dive without knowing the outcome before taking that first step. The three images of the girl represent her risky fall, she’s taken a dangerous dive but will be saved by an unexpected swimming pool of water, not the ocean like she expected. Cliffs, naked girls, and oceans are always a recurring theme in my paintings.

About the Artist I’m an office worker in Sydney CBD and I draw pictures with MS Paint on my lunch break. I’ve been drawing with MS Paint for about a year now but I have been creating forever. I’ve fallen madly in love with MS Paint and it is my primary medium. I’ve never exhibited my work. I am inspired by dreams, nightmares, surrealist concepts and nostalgia. I draw natural landscapes in technicolour and pastels. lazybonesillustrations.tumblr.com

Sophie Loxton Mouths Wide Shut This work portrays the vulnerability of humanity, and the boundless nature of raw intimacy. I aimed to portray the fluidity of intimacy; the limitless nature of sexuality that is unjustly restricted by societal ideals. I explore personal battles, drawn to the expression of raw emotion. I am drawn to the malleable nature of mouths, a vessel that allows for expressions of intimacy.

About the Artist At 18 years old, I aim to explore concepts fundamental to my being. While art is intrinsic to me, my interest in oil and its graceful nature is recent. My battle with mental illness motivates me to explore my own darkness, as well as the effects of restrictive societal ideals on women through subtly confronting paintings. I have had work exhibited in the SACE art show, and Port Youth exhibition.

Giselle Martin Us For humans, hands are responsible for executing the ideas of the mind, as conductive objects through which our creative abilities, emotion, thoughts, ideas and many other aspects of our selves are communicated. They are an extension of our selves, both reflecting and shaping the human experience. I wanted to encapsulate this in a tangible way through a somewhat abstract realist style.

About the Artist 18-year-old artist based in Melbourne. I draw, paint, stencil, do paste ups and installations but work primarily with graphite and fine liner at the moment. My art helps me find meaning in everyday things, to express emotions, ideas and experiences and to make sense of the world. nymphet.tumblr.com

Nicola Mitchell Dreamlike state This work was inspired by Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama, who painted with polka dots and created rooms called ‘Infinity rooms”. Yayoi described her infinity rooms as being a way to tear down her sense of self. “By obliterating one’s individual self, one returns to the infinite universe.” I wanted to tap into that dreamlike state with this work, the land between reality and fantasy.

About the Artist I am 23 and studying graphic design. I admire the works of Vali Myers and Yayoi Kusama. I have mostly explore different perspectives of the female form and gender. I paint with oil paints and also watercolours. I have been studying illustration at RMIT and have recently begun to create digital illustrations. nicolajanemitchell.wix.com/nicolamitchell

Helen Proctor Stoop #4 My work reflects the crumbling and jumbled terrace buildings of Sydney’s inner west. Explored through paintings and sculptures it reflects the layered patterns and shapes that can be seen while roaming the backstreets. The timber used has been salvaged from the same streets the artworks represent, making sure to keep the natural colours and defects of the timber.

About the Artist I grew up in the Blue Mountains and moved to the inner west of Sydney when I was 20. I became very involved in the street art scene and spent most weekends selling art on King St. I studied design at COFA and now teach Design and Technology at high school. I have been commissioned for a number of murals and exhibited at The Tate and China Heights. thisissyke.com

Jasmine Radakovic Female Form Representing the female form through sewn drawing, creating delicate and fluid lines.

One of a series of sewn female forms.

About the Artist High school art teacher. Graduated Bachelor of Art Education at UNSW Art and Design in 2012. Sewing, Drawing and Feminist art. instagram.com/jasmina_rad

Janina Schneider Lunar Portrait of a Siberian Wolf in watercolour, gouache and Indian ink on paper. You will find that most of my illustrations are wild animals with realistic shapes, but abstract colours and characters. The wild animals are to inspire the audience to go out into the wild and reach for adventures; the abstract colours/characteristics are to inspire to always look deeper than what the eyes can see.

About the Artist I’m a fulltime freelance illustrator and graphic designer living in the heart of the Northern Beaches in Sydney. I am highly passionate about raw and organic art, which breathes through all my illustrations, but also my design work. cargocollective.com/janinavictoria

Eliza Slater B e K i n d T o Yo u r F o o d Be kind to your food explores the idea of treating and viewing animals as individuals rather than viewing them purely for our own consumption. Individual portraits printed from linoleum give a confronting and personal view of farmyard animals.

About the Artist I am a printmaker from Sydney, Australia. I just finished my bachelor of fine arts, majoring in printmaking. I love working with lino and my interests are plants and animals.

Chloe Vallance Journey Home Journey Home is inspired by the experience of travel, of movement through space, in which a person’s mind and emotions are simultaneously connected to the past, present and to the unknown future. The plywood surface allows the viewer’ imagination to create a place to ground the almost moving tiny figures into a zen state of stillness. A sense of being at home in your body flowing through space.

About the Artist My name’s Chloe Vallance. I am a portrait artist. I love drawing with colour pencils and painting with watercolour and ink on plywood. The people I draw are my friends whom embody qualities I deeply value: honesty, integrity, kindness and beauty.

My artwork is inspired by people who see which way the wind’s blowing and choose to listen to their heart. chloevallance.com

Louise Zhang ...it came from Goo Lagoon ‘...it came from Goo Lagoon’ resulted from experimenting with form, texture and spatiality while embracing and incorporating the messiness of the studio. The title is derived from the American animated television series Spongebob SquarePants, as a reference to its playful, child-like messiness and often grotesque however cute nature.

About the Artist I am an emerging artist and currently a Masters of Fine Art by research candidate at UNSW Art & Design (COFA). I am interested in the representation of the grotesque influenced by popular culture. My practice is primarily material and process driven. I enjoy working with materials that allow for the mediation between both human intervention and the materials own autonomous dictations. louisezhang.com