Artist Neil Haddon’s winning work The Visit inspired by links to new country
A DEPICTION of author H.G. Wells cycling through the Tasmanian landscape has won the $100,000 Hadley’s Art Prize.
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A DEPICTION of author H.G. Wells cycling through the Tasmanian landscape has won the $100,000 Hadley’s Art Prize.
Local artist Neil Haddon beat 639 other entries to the coveted prize, which is one of the world’s richest landscape awards.
The prize, now in its second year, was presented at Hadley’s Orient Hotel on Friday.
Haddon’s winning piece, which was chosen by a panel of three judges in favour of four highly commended art pieces, will be added to the growing art collection at the Hadley’s Gallery.
Leading Australian artist and judge Michael Zavros said Haddon’s piece – titled The Visit for its reference to H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel War of the Worlds – was a standout among the entries.
“We discussed our interests in all of the works but eventually we found that Mr Haddon’s work was the piece we just kept coming back to,” Mr Zavros said.
“Conceptually, it’s a very layered piece. The work has such an impact, and it just seemed to sing off the wall.”
Haddon, who moved to Tasmania from England in 1996, said his winning piece pointed to what it means to feel like a migrant in a foreign landscape.
“It’s a painting that deals with living in, and making sense of, a new country,” the University of Tasmania Art lecturer said.
“The impact of the British legacy in Tasmania is well known, so my art piece deals with that in subtle ways.”
Prize curator Amy Jackett said this year’s exhibition celebrated the diverse approaches to landscape artwork.
“I encourage people to come and experience the work of these incredible, established and emerging Australian landscape artists,” Dr Jackett said.
The finalists’ exhibition opens to the public on Saturday at the hotel.
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