St.Margaret's News September 2020 September 2020 | Page 6

2020 Bowness Prize
On 20 August, the Monash Gallery of Art announced that the judges of
the 2020 Bowness Prize had selected an “exceptional shortlist of 60
contemporary Australian photographs from over 1,000 entries”.
Amongst the list of finalists was Madeline Bishop., for her entry Yuyi
and Yola 2020, from her series Without your mother.
© Madeline Bishop
Artist Statement: Without your mother considers the nature of absence
within maternal relationships. An absence is a state or condition in
which something expected, wanted or looked for is not present. We
begin our lives looking for our mothers. Do we ever stop looking for
them and do they ever stop looking for us? As we grow, we make attempts
to detach ourselves in order to become independent and live
adult lives. What remnants of this relationship that defines our early
lives remain in the distance of adulthood? Amid absence, our memories
morph, the details become duller and distorted over time and we’re left
with a summarised version of what might have happened, similar to a
photograph. Some edges will blur and some will sharpen until those are
the only parts we can remember.
In light of COVID-19 restrictions and the impact on the sector the MGA
Foundation has made a number of alterations to the prize this year.
This includes extending the exhibition period over summer with a commitment
to ensuring a physical as well as a virtual exhibition. So, the
announcement of the $30,000 winner, Smith & Singer People’s Choice
Award recipient of $5,000, and the Colour Factory Honourable Mentions
will be celebrated at a special event to be confirmed in January
2021.
St Margaret’s News 6 September 2020