The National Contemporary Art Prize 2024
Peta West's original linocut print Halcyon Song (2024) was the Open Winner of The National Contemporary Art Prize 2024.
Photo by Ola Moszumanska
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West’s practice evokes the sublime. Often works that tap into this line of thought are undercut with a sense of unease, as the grandeur of the natural world tends to remind us of our own perceived insignificance. Western Art History has long celebrated the achievements of human civilisations and the worlds we construct for ourselves. As a result, sublime landscapes are portrayed with equal parts awe and fear. What West captures so beautifully is a sense of the sublime without fear. Life explodes before our eyes yet we are not alienated from it. Instead, West’s landscapes allow us to feel a part of the great web of life, giving us a sense of coming home.