Arryn Snowball selected as finalist in Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize | 21.7.23

Artwork: Arryn Snowball, Square Sun, 2022, Tempera and oil on linen, 190 x 190 cm

Congratulations to Arryn Snowball, whose work Square Sun, 2022 has been selected for the 2023 Fraser Coast National Art Prize, Girra.

Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize is an initiative of the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery, borne out of the enduring social and cultural importance of the natural environment in the Fraser Coast region, encompassing land, sea and sky.

Snowball’s selected work Square Sun (2022) explores pattern, rhythm and polyrhythms—created through words. The text was drawn from Brisbane poet Nathan Shepherdson’s Slack Water, along with terms pulled from Grant’s Guide to Fishes—a bible for many recreational fisherman up and down the Australian east coast. The shapes created in the negative space of the hand rendered sans-serif font lures the eye to dart and dance around the canvas. The pattern acts as a net, catching the words inside.

“I’m interested in movement and light, structure and change, uncertainty and ambiguity. I’m into the basics: triangles, circles, lines, colour. I try to keep things simple, yet complexity naturally builds up. I don’t want to disguise any aspect of the process. I prefer a hand painted edge. If a line is awkward, it is my awkwardness. If a line is wobbly, it is more alive.” – Arryn Snowball

The Major Prize winner will be awarded a $25,000 acquisitive prize, becoming a significant acquisition for the newly focused art collection of the Fraser Coast.

The finalists’ exhibition, held at the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery 23 September to 12 November 2023.