This visual music project set to the 2013 album “Open” by Australian cult band The Necks combines time-lapse Landsat satellite imagery of Australia from Geoscience Australia’s Digital Earth Australia project and videography by Grayson Cooke together with aerial macro-photography of paintings by Emma Walker. The resulting work encapsulates the vastly different forms of aerial earth imaging to produce a complex picture of a changing planet.

Judges’ comments:

The work is a synthesis of the Australian landscape and artistic practice. Both are examined individually and then woven together in such a skillful way as to make it challenging to distinguish which is landscape and which is art. The images are then bound further together by a mesmerizing soundtrack. By bringing natural science and art together so seamlessly makes this a worthy winner of the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize 2020.

When asked how it felt to be named the open category winner Grayson Cooke said winning this prize couldn’t be a more perfect accolade for this work with Emma Walker adding it was not so much about winning this prize, but the fact that Open Air had been given the honour of such recognition.

Open Air captures the complexity and majesty of this extraordinary blue dot that we live on. Its resilience and its frailty and how imperative it is for us to value it, as our lives do depend on it. To stop taking it for granted and to revere and care for it. These are the imperatives of our times,” Emma Walker explained.

Grayson Cooke reflected that the inspiration behind this work really had two parts.

“Firstly, the project had a chance to do this intricate and close-up examination of Emma Walker’s amazing paintings and processes, and the idea of exploring them as topographies that reflect the Australian landscape at micro-scale. This then merged into the idea of time lapsing the Australian continent on a very large-scale using satellite imagery. Bringing these strands together and seeing their remarkable commonality was the huge joy of this project.”

Emma Walker said she was keen to get out of the solitude of her studio and work collaboratively with someone, so she jumped at the chance when Grayson suggested they film some of her paintings.

“It was all about experimentation and finding ways and ideas to invigorate my practice. Making this film with Grayson opened so many new possibilities and ideas. When I watched the final edit of the film, I had tears pouring down my cheeks, it was then I understood that somehow, we had made a thing of extraordinary beauty and potency,” Ms Walker said.

“It’s about love for country, and about finding new ways to explore the forces that shape the Earth. We live on an ancient continent, and with every landform and river system we see millions of years of weathering, tens of thousands of years of care by Indigenous people, and modern environmental change as well, through urban expansion and industry. All of these forces bring Australia to its present moment – I hope that this project helps to realise an understanding of the continent’s toughness and fragility, and our responsibility to its future,” added Mr Cooke.

Grayson Cooke and Emma Walker will take home a $30,000 cash prize.

Emerging artist category: 

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN artist Rebecca McEwan has been named the winner of the Emerging artist category in the 2020 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, for 4000 Stories.

Rebecca McEwan’s piece explores the ancient wisdom of human connection with bees by exploring the visceral experience of the human/bee relationship. The chandelier represents a recognised symbol of wealth and luxury, Rebecca has gathered honey from beekeepers to fill tiny glass vessel drops on the chandelier. Each vessel containing the life-time’s work of 2-3 bees, asking us to question the value we place on honey and the existence of bees in our delicately balanced ecosystem.

Judges’ comments:

This is a remarkable work requiring considerable imagination and artifice to execute. It fills three-dimensional space with height, breadth and shadow. At the heart of the artist’s message is the crucial role the industry of bees play in our environment. Contained therein is a loud call to action to us all from the artist.

When asked what inspired the work, Rebecca pondered on her backyard beekeeping.

“Backyard beekeeping led me to read not only ‘how to’ guides to beekeeping but also the ancient stories of mythology and folklore of bees and the relationship humans had cultivated with them over centuries. Bees were once regarded with awe and reverence and were seen as messengers from the heavens, they were thought to have magical powers and knowledge but somewhere along the way this relationship changed dramatically. We lost the regard we once held for them and the essential role they play in the delicate balance of our ecosystems.”

The concept of this chandelier began during a 3-month artist residency at Sauerbier House where Rebecca researched the history of beekeeping in the Fleurieu Peninsula. She met with local small-scale beekeepers, listened to their stories and learnt about their passion for beekeeping.  

Rebecca reflected on the process of building the chandelier, one she called a meditative experience.

“The repetition of filling hundreds of vessels and then painstakingly attaching them to the chains that make up the structure of the chandelier became a way of developing a deep respect for the work these tiny creatures do in supporting our natural environment.”

“There are so many beautiful and magical stories surrounding the ancient relationship humans had with bees and I wanted to create an object which might drive a reconnection to this relationship,” she added.

When asked how it felt to be named the Emerging category winner of the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize Rebecca admitted she has always loved coming to see Waterhouse.

“The themes of the Waterhouse Natural Science Prize have always resonated with me and the themes of my practice, so it is an honour to have my work selected and recognised and to be able share my work with others. I feel very excited and privileged to have been selected to exhibit amongst all these other passionate artists let alone being awarded the emerging artist prize.”

Rebecca McEwan’s prize is $10,000 cash.

The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize is Australia’s premier biennial natural science art prize and has this year attracted entries from outstanding artists from across Australia, with all states represented among the 68 finalists. The 2020 prize also includes a finalist from Belgium.

South Australian Museum Director, and one of the prize’s judges, Mr Brian Oldman says the Waterhouse prize continues to go from strength to strength and is particularly relevant in 2020.

“In the last year, global events have brought us closer to science in our daily lives. I hope viewers of the exhibition leave feeling both artistically enriched and scientifically informed.”

This year’s panel of judges also included Dr David Gaimster, Chief Executive, Auckland War Museum, Margaret Hancock Davis, Curatorial Director, Jam Factory and Professor Anton van den Hengel, Director, Australian Institute for Machine Learning.

Exhibition visitors can have their say and vote for their favourite artwork by submitting an entry form at the Museum by Thursday 18 February, with the winning artist receiving $5,000 in prize money, courtesy of the People’s Choice Dr Wendy Wickes Memoriam Prize.

The exhibition of all finalists in the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize opens at the South Australian Museum on Friday, 11 December – 8 March 2021. The winners and highly commended works will then tour to the National Archives of Australia in Canberra. Tickets are on sale now via www.samuseum.sa.gov.au

To view the full gallery of finalists, please click here.