Kevin Judd wins $2500 and hearts of judges with winning Small is Beautiful exhibit for Art in the Porongurup

The nesting wrens in Kevin Judd’s Small is Beautiful exhibit have captured the hearts of judges with the Porongurup artist taking home $3500 after winning the open and people’s choice prizes in the Art in the Porongurup event. Judd’s piece scored him first place in the open category, $2500, and the people’s choice, $1000. It was praised by judges as “a true stand-out of the exhibition” which had its biggest year yet with 66 submissions. “The nesting wrens blend effortlessly into the natural bushland setting while perfectly capturing the spirit of the Porongurup Range,” the judges said. Open prize runner-up Dave Taylor took home $1500 with his piece Pod, while Mitchell James Thompson was second in the people’s choice category, winning $500 for his work Sea Shepherd. Denmark’s Lilli Barndon, 16, a design student at TAFE, won the senior youth award for 12 to 18-year-olds and a prize of $800. Her piece Devolution of our Existence was praised by judges for its depiction of the transition to an urbanised society. “It reminds us not to lose sight of those qualities which give strength to community,” the judges said. The school prize of $500 went to Parklands School for a set of tiles designed by students exploring themes of peace, friendship and unity called Harmony Tiles, and Dempsey Hunter, 10, took out the junior youth award for entrants aged under-11, winning $200 for The Land of Lost Things. Event co-ordinator Sayah Drummond said the event, now in its 23rd year, was going from strength to strength. “Most of our entries were from Great Southern artists so it is great to generate such interest,” she said. “It was inspiring just walking around the art pieces and seeing people in the community putting something back into the community.” Seven major local sponsors provided the prize money. “We are really grateful for the sponsors because we wanted it to be a free event,” she said. “That meant everything the sponsors put in went on the prize fund and back to the artists.”