Congratulations Jennifer Joseph on being shortlisted for the Paul Guest Prize 2022. This biennial non-acquisitive prize celebrates contemporary drawing practice in Australia. The prize was initiated by former Family Court Judge and Olympic rower, The Honourable Paul Guest OAM QC. The winner will be announced at the opening of an exhibition of the finalists’ work in August.
Jennifer Joseph made this statement about her shortlisted work: My art is not about anything other than what is to be discovered in the materials I’m using and the process of art-making. Paradoxically however, my concern is with the ephemeral nature of existence itself. Life, death, and the process of change. I do not plan my work, so as not to limit its organic potential. My art is born in the act of making, and as in this example, it’s often my intention to reveal this process in the finished work. I’m fascinated by what happens when ink poured on paper merges with it to become something else. Or what occurs when rags used in the painting process become part of the artwork itself. The linear markings applied with urgency and partially erased or scribbled over, almost like the markings on a blackboard, are drawn from deep within the artist’s psyche. As in life, it’s all about the process.
Paul Guest Prize 2022
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, VIC
6 August – 30 October 2022