Alumna scoops top art prize
AUT visual arts alumna Angela Tiatia was awarded the prestigious Ravenswood Australian women's art prize recently for The Fall, a video art piece depicting the 1942 fall of Singapore (the battle in which Japan seized control of Singapore, and Britain suffered its worst defeat of WWII). Valued at AU$35,000 (NZ$37,400) the Ravenswood prize is Australia's biggest women's art prize.
In a piece published by the Sydney Morning Herald, Angela explained that her work was inspired by tales from survivors of the Singapore battle.
"Precious family photographs were burnt because local Singaporeans feared being targeted as anti-Japanese," Angela said. "There were stories of soldiers gorging on food, thinking it was their last meal. On the day of the fall, Australian soldiers who had lost all hope took baths in water saved in case of scarcity."
The Fall is a five-minute long film shot in a single, unbroken take. 30 actors play a total of 60 characters and depict real-life accounts of the battle – all gleaned from Angela's extensive research.
''I wanted the audience to empathise and connect with possible and alternative futures and be conscious of the decisions we can make now to avoid at all costs another world war. We live in such a time right now where we can see the fall of our society in our near future,'' Angela described.
Read the full article on the Sydney Morning Herald website.
Sydney Morning Herald website