(Luyanda Zindela at
the Absa L’Atelier Awards ceremony)
Durban’s Luyanda Zindela was recognised for his photographic
print Umkhumbi wakaMedusa which he
entered for the 2014 Absa L’Atelier Art Competition.
Protest, introspection, an awareness of earthen roots and
the human condition were all explored through the exceptional works received,
with the top four entries being announced last month at the Absa Gallery.
Pretoria’s Liberty Battson took the overall award and main
prize for her diptych, Odds of an artist
like me, while Mbavhalelo Nekhavhambe from Thohoyandou was awarded the
Gerard Sekoto Award, sponsored by the French Embassy and the Alliance Française
in South Africa, for the most promising artist with an annual income less than
R60,000 for his video installation, Press
Accident.
Luyanda Zindela won a Merit Award alongside Johannesburg’s
Bevan de Wet, who was awarded for his etching and relief entitled Decorus in Gryphus II. De Wet won a two
months’ stay at the Sylt Foundation in Germany while Zindela won a one month’s
stay at the Ampersand Foundation in New York. As part of the prize, Zindela
also becomes a Fellow of the Ampersand Foundation.
The Absa L’Atelier Art Competition is in its 29th year and
is hosted in partnership with the South African National Association for the
Visual Arts (SANAVA). It is regarded as Africa’s most influential art
competition. It specifically targets established and emerging young artists
with the objective of showcasing their diverse talents and fast-tracking the
careers of the winners by exposing them to international opportunities.
The competition is open to young artists aged 21 to 35 and
attracts entries from across the country, which is open to public viewing
during the regional adjudication rounds. An exhibition of the top 100 works
will be on public display until August 21 2014 at the Absa Gallery in
Johannesburg.
For more information visit http://www.absalatelier.co.za/
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