A unique collision of art and science: meet the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize

Posted on 13 October, 2022

Celebrating its 20^th year, the National Archives of Australia’s (NAA) latest exhibition showcases artists’ interpretations of the scientific properties that surround us.

Exploring nature’s triumphs, disasters, and the scientific issues we currently face, the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize is a multimedia collection that encourages artists to offer their view of the world.

Open until Sunday 13 November, the traveling exhibition showcases the winning finalists of the biennial 2022 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize while commemorating the birth of the South Australian Museum’s first curator, Frederick George Waterhouse.

The prize is an opportunity for artists to investigate our world and showcase their perspectives on natural science while also offering a valuable platform for artists to contribute to many environmental debates and present their own statements about our scientific issues.

Encouraged to explore the natural properties of the Earth and its contents through a range of creative outlets spanning multiple medias, there were two main award categories for the entrants to submit to: An Open Prize (where the winner receives $30,000) and an Emerging Artist Prize (where the winner receives $10,000).

Kyoko Hashimoto and Guy Keulemans’ Bioregional Rings (Central Coast), winner of the Open Prize.

Kyoko Hashimoto and Guy Keulemans were the lucky winners of the Open Prize with their piece Bioregional Rings (Central Coast). The rings showcase the materials that were foraged within one bioregion. This piece intends to showcase the ‘local richness of place’.

Deb McKay’s Fragile Forms was the winner of the Emerging Category with her work exploring the human body and ‘the way the forces of time, memory and movement impact upon it.’

Deb McKay’s Fragile Forms, winner of the Emerging Artist’s Prize.

These magnificent pieces have now reached Canberra in addition to many other worthy finalists, and it’s definitely worth the visit. The exhibition is open from 9 am – 5 pm daily and (with free entry) it’s a unique opportunity to see the world we live on through a different lens.

A much-loved fixture in many art calendars, come explore the beauty and destruction of natural sciences by some incredibly talented artists.

For more information about the prize, its artists, or the exhibition, visit the NAA’s website at naa.gov.au

Feature image: Highly commended Surface Beneath artwork by Alexandra Hirst and Mirjana Dobson on the cycle of carbon release.