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Art for Change Prize: Meet the Winner for Australia

13/02/2023
Advertising Agency
Sydney, Australia
181
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Global creative solutions company M&C Saatchi Group and London’s iconic Saatchi Gallery launched a new annual international art initiative – the Art for Change Prize. Meet our six winners, chosen from over 2,500 entries from 130 countries worldwide

As part of a shared mission in making art, culture, and creativity accessible to everyone, this prize will stimulate dialogue around visual arts as a medium for positive global and social change and give exposure to emerging artists worldwide. 

Our six winners from around the world were decided by some of the best business and creative minds from the M&C Saatchi Group globally and eminent guest judges. In this Art for Change series, we hear from our winners for 2022. Find out what inspires them artistically, what equality means to them, and what’s coming up next. 

The Art for Change Prize will return in Spring 2023.

Introducing Clare Jaque Vasquez from Australia. Learn more about Clare’s work here.

Artist Clare Jaque Vasquez’s winning entry, “The Hunter and Gatherer” at London’s Saatchi Gallery. Image credit: Tom Shaw


1. Describe your artistic practice in 3 words.

Clare> Weaving, storytelling and layered.


2. What excites you most about the Art for Change Prize?

Clare> The huge opportunity to unite with talented artists and creative minds from across the globe on the theme of equality. It's such an honour to win the Australia region for the first year and I cannot wait to see the winning works of next year's global finalists. 


3. You have been selected as the winner for Australia. Tell us about your winning artwork and the relationship to this year’s theme ‘Equality’.

Clare> My work ‘The Hunter and Gatherer’ plays with two weaving styles in raised textural form. By referencing these traditional practices, I try to encourage the viewer to think about the shifting roles between modern society and First Nations practices and how traditional rituals have evolved to occur in the modern world, such as hunting and gathering. 

In ‘The Hunter and Gatherer’ I have depicted equality by blanketing traditional weaving motifs in neutral tones that are at one with the canvas. Providing an intricate foundation to step forward with, whilst paying homage to the past. 


4. Can you tell us more about where you are from and how this affects your work?

Clare> I'm from Gomeroi/Kamilaroi community in Australia and now live on Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Bindal land in Queensland. Gomeroi/Kamilaroi culture is everything to me, it's my foundation. I was fortunate to have my mum and grandma raise me and living with them in a tiny rural town in my teenage years has greatly shaped who I am today. My work captures stories and memories from the past three-four generations of my family as life transitioned from forced placement on a mission/reserve through to navigating the complexities of the wild western world. A lot has happened in the last few generations, and it is pinnacle that these chapters are gently captured and a conversation is opened through storytelling. 


5. Where do you find your inspiration?

Clare> My mum is a big inspiration. We find ourselves catching up over a cup of tea regularly, resurfacing old memories and moments from years back. My grandma has passed on and she is a huge part of who I am today. Growing up I was told lots of stories about my grandma's mum and what life was like on the mission she was placed on. There's a common thread of women in my family of resilient and gentle souls. 


6. Do you believe art has the power to change the world?

Clare> Definitely. It sparks conversation and a shift by questioning the lens in which we view the world through. My work lures viewers in with a tranquil aura and then metaphorically with force hits viewers in the heart to confront their own bias and views of the past as they ponder on what the future means. 


7. If you could be compared to one artist from art history, who would it be?

Clare> My artist practice is unique and I've drawn elements from traditional storytelling and different art eras. With storytelling in a contemporary context, First Nations artists Renko Renne, Blak Douglas and Daniel Boyd are forging really interesting paths in art history in the present day. 

In terms of art eras, I've drawn inspiration for my impasto textural techniques. My artistic practice of unique textures can be likened to Rembrandt van Rijn and Jackson Pollock.


8. What’s next?

Clare> I've got an exciting 2023 lined up with a solo exhibition called 'Weaving with Paint' happening in March with Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts in Townsville, Queensland in Australia. In July, I will have my art showcased at the 'Cairns Indigenous Art Fair' with Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts as well. I'm so humbled to have had the opportunity to exhibit in London at Saatchi Gallery with the Art for Change Prize and I'm looking forward to seeing where my path leads to next.

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