A co-production of Flying Arts and Queensland Poetry Festival (QPF), the QRAA Ekphrasis Challenge asked poets Australia-wide to respond to eight artworks in the Queensland Regional Arts Awards 2020.
The selected poet for each of the eight categories received a publication fee. The six winning artworks have their matching winning poem featured on a didactic panel in the touring Decadence exhibition, while the while the two winning poems that respond to the two People’s Choice artworks are featured here.
The QRAA Ekphrasis Challenge 2020 category winners are Ashley Haywood, Anna Black, Carlo Caponecchia, Esther Ottaway, Hannah Jenkins, Helen Avery, Lauren Rae and Jocelyn Deane.
Queensland Poetry Festival’s mission is to support great artists to inspire, entertain and challenge a diverse audience base by delivering excellence in all forms of poetry and spoken word, to create stronger communities and improve people’s health and wellbeing through the power of poetry.
The QRAA Ekphrasis Challenge is supported by Australian Poetry via the Cultural Fund.
2020 WINNING POEMS
Plant Script by Ashley Haywood
Sensory processing disorder by Esther Ottaway
I seem more aware of subtleties in my space.
Melissa Spratt, 2020
Artist Location: Gold CoastMedium: Finger-knitted wool on water resistant backing.
Dimensions: 60 x 85 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
This artwork was created as an expression and explanation of what it is to identify as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). In this context, decadence relates to the way in which a HSP manages their external and internal stimuli. Where they are cautious not to over indulge in decadent activities. Due to having a sensitive nervous system, a HSP is aware of subtleties in their surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment. This piece is the beginning of a larger project and speaks to the theme of Decadence in a way that encompasses our growing sensitivities in a world full of overstimulation and change.
Photographer: Melissa Spratt
Blue in Nature by Jocelyn Deane
Outback, A Sense of Place
Katrina Goldsworthy, 2019
Artist Location: CornubiaMedium: Watercolour and coloured pencil
Dimensions: 77 x 58 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
OUTBACK’ A SENSE OF PLACE’ 24/7 – H20 is a Pictorial history of a Sense of Place:
A Cameleer in early 2013 found a Sensor Digital Camera in the mud at a isolated dessert spring way OUTBACK in Central Australia. (The spring is on the flood plain of the Mulligan river which runs down the eastern edge of the Simpson Desert about half way between Mt Isa and Birdsville). The Cameleer retrieved the camera and removed the disc downloading the images to his laptop. Who could have believed the wonder that unfolded with the menagerie of wildlife to be found all BOUND by the ‘OUTBACK’ A SENSE OF PLACE.
Please note on each image is the Provenance: you will see the Temperature/date/time in the lower right hand corner of each watercolour sketch which poses the question: Is the water hole ‘Decadence’ or ‘Survival’ or ‘Both’?
Photographer: Katrina Goldsworthy
Untitled (after Reap) by Hannah Jenkins
REAP
View Video Artwork
Donna Davis, 2020
Artist Location: Deebing HeightsMedium: Video
Dimensions: 30 x 54 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Decadence is an ephemeral and unsustainable state. This work explores the fleeting nature of decadence and invites the viewer to consider the natural world not merely for our pleasure, rather as a multitude of interconnected life that supports the health of our planet.
Collections that house human artefacts have their climate conditions monitored and regulated to ensure the longevity and survival of their contents. But what steps are we taking to regulate climate conditions on planet Earth, the living collection that houses all species, including the human?
With carbon stores continuing to fuel our decadent lifestyles, what are we prepared to change to allow our planet to heal? The work reminds us that we reap what we sow, and asks what will we sow for our future…
Photographer: Donna Davis
Seagull woman by Helen Avery
Seagull and Crane – a traditional Lardil story from Mornington Island
Joelene Roughsey, 2020
Artist Location: Gununa, Mornington IslandMedium: Acrylic on linen
Dimensions: 101.5 x 101 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
This Traditional story shows that avoiding responsibility and assuming a decadent, privileged attitude and being a bully will result in some real consequences. This story is told often here on island.
Seagull and Crane – A traditional Lardil story from Mornington Island
On peaceful Bende Reef, out from Biberr, lived the Seagull Woman and her husband, the Crane Man and their little baby. The Crane Man would go out hunting for fish, oysters, and crabs. Sometimes he’d bring back a little bit of food for the family, but not always.
One day when he did come back with food, Crane said to his wife, “Well, Seagull, you gotta get up and cook now. I got some food here for you to cook and it’s my turn to have a rest.” And, then he went and laid down. Sometimes he would just eat his catch out there where he was hunting, and sometimes he didn’t come back at all. One time he was gone for three years.
After three years he walked back up and said, “Hey, it’s me. I’ve come back.” Seagull Woman was not impressed. Seagull Woman took the baby on her little walpa (raft) and dragged it along, dragged it along with the rope.
And she dragged, and she dragged it round and round and round. Cutting deep channels into the land until the water flooded in. While she dragged that walpa she sang that lajirambena (lullaby) song. And so she separated the islands from the mainland by creating those channels of water.
Some people say that Seagull Woman also put a curse on the Crane Man. Because nowadays the Crane can only hunt in shallow water. But Seagull Woman, she’s strong. She can hunt on the open sea, she can fly around and dive, and she can hunt in shallow water or deep water. She has a big family and can look after herself.
Photographer: MIART Mornington Island Art
Six-Step Beauty Poem by Lauren Rae
Worth the cost?
Erin McKenna, 2020
Artist Location: ErakalaMedium: Digital photograph
Dimensions: 20.3 x 25.5 x 0.1 cm
Artist Statement:
In response to the theme of decadence, I had decided to respond with a piece focused on how too much decadence can be a negative thing. ‘Worth the cost?’ is a photograph based on plastic surgery and Botox. Indulging in these procedures can lead to regret and a loss of one’s identity. In order to communicate this, I had used red shades from the eyeshadow, lipstick and syringe as a symbol of power, wealth and the mental and physical dangers involved with these procedures. The blue background was used in order to create a medical vibe to the image. By having the hand on her cheek, the feeling of her insecurities about her looks is conveyed. The placement of her eyes in the middle matched with the sunken features created by brown eyeshadow further communicates her despair.
Photographer: Erin McKenna
fish in a bag by Carlo Caponechia
Shimmering Gold, 2020
Paul Perry, 2020
Artist Location: BargaraMedium: Ceramic and glass tiles on reinforced paper bag
Dimensions: 50 x 34 x 14 cm
Artist Statement:
Who will forget 2020 and the impact of the Corona virus on our lifestyle, especially in Regional Queensland? Further isolated within isolation; only dressing up to put the rubbish bins out, zooming into our smart screens for social relief… when the flaky internet connection allows, peering out our front window and sharing the view. Even our beloved shopping trips restricted and under strict social isolation conditions. Now I understand the goldfish dilemma. This calls for decadence! A shimmering facade for the isolated goldfish, no matter which angle you take. Glistening, glittering, and even glowing! Makes one feel much better. But at the core, it’s still just life in a paper bag!
Photographer: Sabrina Lauriston
Extraction of Energy by Anna Black
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A Time Before
Edwin Hamill, 2020
Artist Location: BuderimMedium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 90 x 120 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Humans are social creatures, we grow up together, entertain each other and form bonds together. The ability to interact with each other in a public space has previously been a privilege that was taken for granted until recent world events. My work “A time Before” focuses on that lack of interaction and our isolation due to quarantine, the decadence of social interaction is now a hope rather than something we once experienced as a social norm. Depicted is a scene with dancers, rich drinks and a line of attendees, nowhere to be seen is a mask or any PPE as we were indulging in what, until recently, was a normal weekend activity. A simplified pallet has been used in order to represent the richness of the scene and portray our previous societal norms as something the we indulged in, unknowingly within weeks it would become a privilege.
Photographer: Edwin Hamill