Supporting Young & Emerging Shoalhaven Artists 2024

SAS awarded Shoalhaven young artist, Lincoln Davie (Nowra Christian School) first place for technical accomplishment for his work 'The Adoration of Adolescence (2021)'.  Lincoln's work showed exceptional skill in the technique of chiaroscuro through his depiction of his peers using soft pastel on stonehenge paper. 

  Lincoln Davie    

The Adoration of Adolescence

Soft pastel on black Stonehenge paper

Artist Statement      

In 'The Adoration of Adolescence' I have used the dramatic   romanticisation of the Italian Renaissance technique of chiaroscuro to   explore the intricacies of the emotional landscape of adolescents. I started   my body of work as a project to extend my growing abilities in portraiture   and felt it apt to convey both the positive and negative emotions that my   classmates and I were experiencing 'in the eye of the storm' of the HSC. I used soft pastel as my medium as it expresses the ephemeral nature of   emotions and carries the vibrancy to contrast with the black Stonehenge   paper. 

Tili Snelling (Nowra Anglican College) was awarded second place for her artwork 'Gadhu (rough sea) Rising. The work displayed technical accomplishment trough a variety of art making techniques and reflected on our local Shoalhaven Region.

Tili Snelling

Gadhu (rough sea) Rising

Textiles, fibres, silk screen printing, laser cutting and solar fasting   shadows.       

Artist Statement

This Body of Work provokes the audience to consider their part in interacting with the water, surrounding bushland and mankind’s   encroaching imprint on Jervis Bay. It references the Dhurga language, Gadhu, meaning rough seas and explores contrasting ways in which different cultures relate to the land. I grew up in a remote indigenous community in North East Arnhem Land where I observed the ways Yolngu people connect and care for their homelands. This experience has shaped my view of environmentalism and awareness of my own impact on the natural world. 

Inspired by Judy Watson’s art practice and her intrinsic connection to land, the artwork is bound together by the red stitching of the Budawang escarpment and the distinctive outline of Pigeon House Mountain, imprinted on the coastline of Southern Booderee National Park. This unifying woven line acknowledges that humans are merely one thread in the huge web of life and this reciprocity should guide humans to nurture and protect the earth as the web does humankind.

The silk screen printing of local Jervis Bay maps and graphs highlight the disturbing impact of British colonists and our destructive impression on the natural environment. By solar fasting native flora and seaweed to create organic silhouettes, I questioned the exploitation of the natural   environment as a result of human interference. 

The beauty of the artwork works as a ‘mask’ for deeper meaning and encourages the audience to search for a strong, underlying message. In the web of life, we must enact our appreciation and sustenance of our natural environment. Action must be taken. Ghadu is rising.