Tshwane University of Technology student John Robbertse walked away as the grand winner of the 2015 Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards on Saturday night (September 26).
Held annually at the Coen Scholtz Recreation Centre in Birchleigh North, the awards aim to encourage artists to excel and compete with each other in order to create cutting edge visual arts products.
The competition reveals the hidden talent of many artists in the community, thus offering them the opportunity to be noticed by commercial galleries and collectors.
Robbertse, who hails from Rustenburg, scooped the first prize – which comes with a nifty R40 000 – for his intricate oil painting artwork called “Spoon Feeding”.
“I am just so happy that I’ve won – it really came as a huge surprise because I didn’t expect it at all. There were so many other beautiful artworks that were in the top 15 too. It’s such an amazing feeling to have all those long nights of hard work pay off; and it’s also just a good confirmation for myself as an artist that I should keep doing what I’m doing and that people appreciate my art,” Robbertse exclaimed with joy.
Inspired by his past experiences, including from when he was a child, the 24-year-old combined antique dinner spoons with painting – something he describes as his first love.
“My work revolves around found objects, their history and identity. In this work, I combine antique utilitarian objects such as dinner spoons with my first love – painting. By adorning these objects with miniature portraits in oil paint, they are charged with new meaning as their original functions are being subverted to confront issues of identity,” Robbertse explained.
“This work also celebrates a few different elements which I believe make up my own personal identity, be it my favourite movies or my family history.”
Robbertse also achieved the Lizamore and Associates Mentorship Programme prize, which solidifies a solo exhibition for the winner.
The second prize went to Bapsfontein teen, Jeanne Breedt, for her mixed media creation called “Jenny and the Fly-Shuttle: the motherhood”; a re-creation of an industrial revolution-style production machine.
The 19-year-old town and regional planning student walked away with R30 000.
Merit award winners of the night include: Minien Hattingh who won the Multi and New Media / Photography Merit Award for “Invisible Mothers”, Mishkaah Amien won the Art on Paper Award for “Outline”, Rourke Lyte-Mason won the Painting Award for “Familiar-Unfamiliar” and the Sculpture Award went to Mzwandile Mahlangu for his artwork called “The King’s Highway”.
Each of the merit award winners received R7500.
This year, the competition received 285 entries from all over the country, from which 84 works were selected to be in the 2015 exhibition and from these, the top 15 were chosen.
All 84 artworks will be available for viewing at the recreation centre until October 18, daily from 8am until 5pm and is free of charge to the public.
