LOCAL Barkindji-Malyangapa artist Dave Doyle has won the Sculpture Award as part of the 2024 Hornsby Art Prize.
The prize, organized and sponsored by Hornsby Shire Council, had an overall prize pool of $23,000 this year, with category prizes for painting, drawing, printmaking, digital art stills and digital photography, and sculpture.
The non-acquisitive prize celebrates contemporary Australian art and is open to all Australian residents aged over 18.
Doyle said his sculpture work Eroded “serves as a poignant reflection on the enduring struggle to preserve our cultural identity amidst external pressures to assimilate and forget our roots”.
“It speaks to the relentless forces that seek to erode our connection to our past, our identity, and our ancestral lands,” he said.
“Through metaphorical erosion, our souls, memories, and customs bear the scars of this ongoing battle, wearing away at our knowledge, language, ceremony, and stories.
“Yet, like a weathered shield, we remain resilient.
“Despite the erosion, our spirit endures, steadfast and unyielding, a testament to the strength of our cultural heritage.”
Eroded also won the Indigenous Art Prize in the Fishers Ghost Art Award this week.
“This year has been an incredible journey for me personally, capped off by winning a couple of prestigious art awards,” Doyle said.
“I’m particularly proud of my bronze shields, Eroded and Fragmented.
“These pieces come out of extensive research – online, in Australia, and around the world – to ensure I was honouring and continuing the cultural design that’s so important to Barkindji heritage.
“Ending the year on such a high note with these works, I feel a profound sense of accomplishment and connection to my heritage.”
