2014 Winner - Duality by 23rd Key (Australia)
23rd Key won the prize with her portrait of The Living End’s front man Chris Cheney. “As a musician it’s common to have multiple sides to your persona. With my portrait of Chris Cheney I really wanted to show as many of those sides as possible.
I tried to push the boundaries of what a stencil is and create movement within a medium that is usually very rigid and strict in it’s uses. The outcome is the closest possible representation I could come up with for a musician like Chris,” says 23rd Key.
23rd Key began stencilling in 2005 and has spent most of her time toiling over a table ever since. Under the pseudonym 23rd Key, she creates photo-realistic stencils, taking no short cuts and spending up to 6 months on any one piece. With a background in printmaking, graphic design and audio engineering, she utilises all aspects of these experiences, contributing greatly to her already photo-realistic style.
She hand-carves each delicate, perforated layer, and this attention to detail is the trademark that won her the Australian Stencil Art Prize in 2011. (The Australian Stencil Art Prize expanded in 2013 to include international artists and became known as the Stencil Art Prize in its’ current format.)
Working with only 9 layers or fewer on any one piece, she doesn’t give weight to the number of layers a stencil has, but the amount of detail cut into each individual layer. Breaking ground in her medium, she is one of the few stencil artists to incorporate 3D elements and free-hand embellishments into her works. 23rd Key excels in breaking the rules of the stencil medium and approaching it in a way none of her peers have before.
Highly Commended
MTN Australia Best New Artist / Encouragement Award
Mark Callaghan (Australia) won the MTN Australia Best New Artist / Encouragement Award for his stencil painting ‘Vanessa‘. Mark received a $500 inshore voucher from MTN Australia.
Finalists
The 2014 Stencil Art prize exhibited 65 stencil artists work from 18 countries at aMBUSH Gallery from the 16-19 October 2014.
Countries included Germany, Iran, France, USA, Scotland, Canada, Netherlands, England, Argentina, Norway, Thailand, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Poland, Czech Republic and Australia.
2HEADS, Australia
1337, Australia
23rd Key, Australia
AbcArtAttack, USA
Adam5100FeiBelman, USA
Andrea Olivieri, Italy
Angus Comyns, Australia
Ann CAZ.L, Germany
Ben Rak, Australia
BIZZY, England
Boo, Australia
Brian DeLoncker, USA
Bustart and Zaira, Netherlands
byrd, Australia
Camo, Australia
Campbell La Pun, Japan
Catman, England
CEN ONE, Germany
CFS, Norway
David Soukup, USA
DENIAL, Canada
Drahtfunk, Australia
E.L.K, Australia
EC, Australia
eins92, Germany
Eric Davidson Gluyas, Australia
EVRST, Australia
Fox, Germany
Fros, EnglandGail Butler, Australia
Gibrian Foltz, USA
Gokhan Civas, Turkey
Grafeeney, England
GUS, Argentina
Headache,Thailand
Himed & Reyben, Mexico
Isaac Dana, USA
Jay Hill, USA
Jay Medlen, Australia
Jenna Bloom, Australia
just stencil the world, Germany
Katherine Jukes, Australia
Kelly Sullivan, Australia
Leviathan, Czech Republic
LittleHawk, Australia
Lone Wolf Visuals, Scotland
Manofdarkness, Australia
Mark Callaghan, Australia
Mateo,France
Mathew Curran, USA
Miss Meow, Australia
Monstfur, Poland
mr.R & papagiBs, France
Nafir, Iran
Neen, Australia
OiNK, England
RD-D2, Australia
RK, Australia
Shanta, Australia
sputNIK, Australia
TBird, Australia
Tinku, Guatemalan/Mexican
Tom Mills Art, Australia
Tommy Gurr, England
Zalez, France