Elliot Collins has been announced the winner of the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award 2024, and will collect a prize of $10,000 – sponsored by the Molly Morpeth Canaday (Whakatāne) Fund. The MMCA is presented by Arts Whakatāne with exhibition partners Whakatāne District council Museum and Library.
The award, in its 38th year, seeks to highlight and celebrate excellence in fine art throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
The winners are selected from a pool of entrants selected by three preliminary judges – this year: Darcell Apelu (artist and educator), Emily Hartley-Skudder ( artist and major winner of MMCA – 2023) and Dr. Jeremy Mayall (CEO Creative Waikato).
Elliot’s winning work “Did you get the watercress I left you?” made from acrylic, wood and a shopping trolley was chosen by Guest Judge Andrew Clifford (Director, Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui) from an impressive 495 entries nationwide. This and 61 other winners and finalists are exhibited at the Te Kōputu a te Whanga a Toi – Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre from Sunsay 18th February – Friday 6th April 2024.
Reflecting on the winning artwork, Clifford said….
“…this painting’s framing device, the structure that holds it all together, is an old shopping trolley bag. The kind favoured by more senior members of our community. It holds it all together but also holds it in suspension – it wants to walk away and disturb the fine balance of the elements. Who is the owner and where are they? The use of colour, as the work’s description reminds us, has external associations and connects us with the landscape and its occupants, as well as with elements of space and time. Through these narrative possibilities, Did you get the watercress I left you? evokes stories, memories and time, and encourages us to consider poetic relationships with the spaces we occupy and how we share them.
Elliot Collins, who hails from Taranaki, accepted the award and paid respect to his fellow artists and sponsors….”It’s a cool show to be involved in – thank you to the sponsors – sponsoring art is an amazing thing to do, also just buying art is a really good way of sponsoring! One thing is, art brings really strange and profound people together”
According to Collins in his artist statement…
“Mātauranga. A beautiful kuikui who walks the beach every day, rain or shine, described the colour of the waves at a particular time of day, as worn light blue denim, and it’s changed the way I want to see the world. She sometimes has her mokos’ with her but sometimes she just walks the beach alone. She tells me that coming down to the sea is her medicine. But she also said, “If you see me fall over come pick me up” – she walked away laughing and said, “Did you get the watercress I left for you?!””
Andrew Clifford also awarded 8 other prizes. The recipients are:
Akel Award runner up ($4,000) Till the Clock Strikes Five by Ming Ranginui
Craigs Investment Partners Youth Award ($2,500) A Dollar Fifty by Jonghyun Yun
Robinson Law Highly Commended ($1,500) Esk River (after Gabrielle) by Kate van der Drift
The Mayor’s Prize ($1,500) The Belisha Beacon by Llyr Williams
Merit Award sponsored by Our Place Magazine – (Three page feature in OPM ($3,500) Beluga whales swimming in the air by Claudia Kogachi
Merit Award sponsored by Gordon Harris – ($500 product) Stardust (from my back yard) by Karen Sewell
Merit Award sponsored by Frames by Daniel – ($500 product) Tahi by Tim Wigmore
Merit Award sponsored by 4Artsake Gallery, Ōhope -$500 Green on Green by Bridgit Day
A final award will be decided by visitors to the exhibition. The People’s Choice ($500) is arguably the most popular Molly Morpeth Canaday Award. Sponsored by The Whakatāne Society of Arts & Crafts, Anne Tolley and Diverse Graphics, this award is decided by popular vote and announced at the end of the exhibition – so make sure you get your votes in for your favourite!
The Molly Morpeth Canaday 2024 finalist’s exhibition runs from now until 6 April at the Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre, 49 Kakahoroa Drive, Whakatāne. All the works are for sale giving art lovers the opportunity to collect some of the leading contemporary art in the country.
Photo: Winner Elliot Collins with Judge Andrew Clifford and MMC trustee eStevan de Castro.
