Moving, personal artwork wins illustrous Absa L’Atelier competition

This year’s Absa L’Atelier prize-giving event took place on Wednesday night. One of the longest-running, most prestigious art competitions in Africa, it’s now in its 33rd year and aims to give up-and-coming African artists from 12 countries a platform to showcase their work.

The competition is open to emerging artists aged 21 to 35 and the first prize is R330 000, with art residencies for the runners up.

This year’s first-prize winner was Marguerite Kirsten for her abject artwork titled Embodiment.

Marguerite Kirsten, Embodiment

Kirsten suffers from chronic kidney disease, an affliction that has seen her spend many hours in hospital and undergo countless tests.

Kirsten says: “Embodiment attempts to strengthen and dignify my body that has become an object and instrument of the medical institution. In this work, my presence is rendered through using this substance that references my medical condition.”

The artist admits that putting something so personal on display was hard for her, but also therapeutic. Disease and bodily functions are often taboo subjects in society, and taking those things and turning them into an artwork that’s aesthetically beautiful makes Embodiment an incredibly strong work.

Kirsten won a six-month art residency in Paris, and her R330 000 prize money must be used for a study term of between three and six months in the studio apartment at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.

The competition also hands out three merit award prizes and the Gerard Sekoto Award for the most promising artist.

This year’s merit award recipients were Gillian Abe of Uganda for her work Seat of Honour, Henry Obeng of Ghana for his work Recycle Frame 2, and Kirsten Eksteen of South Africa for her work Patterns and Pattern Body.

South Africa’s Philiswa Lila was the recipient of the Gerard Sekoto Award for her work Self-Titled.

City Press particularly liked Obeng’s work – he recycled bamboo from the area he comes from and created large paper works with depth and texture.

Henry Obeng, Recycle Frame 2