The National Archives of Australia has launched an exhibition of artworks from the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize in Old Parliament House.
The Art Prize, from the South Australian Museum, attracts high-calibre entries from around the world and encourages discussion about scientific and environmental issues facing the planet.
On display are 17 winning and highly commended works of art selected from this year’s Prize.
Director General of the National Archives, David Fricker said he was thrilled to host the popular Waterhouse Prize once again — the only location outside Adelaide to do so.
“We will be holding the exhibition at Old Parliament House this year while we wait to move back to our permanent East Block home in 2019,” Mr Fricker said.
Erica Seccombe (pictured) was named winner of the open category for her video work Metamorphosis, documenting the mysterious transformation of a pupating fly.
Judges praised her for “profoundly capturing the spirit of the Prize with a work that took as its foundation the ordinarily unseen intersection between science and art.”
Hayley Lander won the emerging artist category for her oil painting The Great Forgetting, which she describes as articulating “the fragility of our ecosystem as species move towards their tipping point of endurance”.
Ms Lander’s work impressed the judging panel with its “highly considered, painterly sophistication [making it] a compelling choice”.
The exhibition runs until 14 October.
