Symbols of devastation

For the second year running, an artist from Indonesia reaped the top prizes at the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year award, Singapore’s longest-running and richest painting prize.

Anggar Prasetyo, 42, won both the UOB Southeast Asian Painting of the Year Award worth US$10,000, and the UOB Painting of the Year Award (Indonesia), one of four country awards worth $25,000 each.

The other country awards are for Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Prasetyo’s winning work, “Exploitation of Fish”, is a large-scale painting (1.75m by 1.75m) that uses symbols such as fish, hands and feet to evoke the bleakness of oceans ravaged by overfishing.

The awards ceremony, held on Wednesday night at the Capitol Theatre, also named Benjamin F Cruz, 61, as the winner of the UOB Painting of the Year Award (Singapore). A retired graphic designer, his painting (1.52m by 1.60m) titled “Building...:” uses varnish, turpentine and acrylic to depict a landscape of buildings.

In the emerging artist category for Singapore, the Most Promising Artist of the Year Award went to Ezra Chan, 15, a Pathlight School student who has mild autism. His acrylic and oil painting (0.91m by 1.22m), “Play”, is about the world of pop culture and computer games.

The contest, in its 34th edition, was judged by a 12-member panel that included Dr Bridget Tracy Tan, director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Arts and Art Galleries at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

The guest of honour was Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

In a statement, the judging panel said Prasetyo’s painting bagged top honours for its “innovative technique and strong narrative on the erosion of natural resources conveyed through the use of symbols”.

He used methods such as moulding, spray painting and acrylic painting to create relief effects on canvas. This was, to the judges, “a new exploration of how painting develops expressiveness”, Dr Tan said..

The artist was a finalist at the 1997 Philip Morris Indonesian Art Awards and his work has been shown in China and Japan. Based in Yogyakarta, Prasetyo, who loves the ocean, said he was moved to paint the degeneration of beaches he saw near his home.

Last year’s winning work was also by a Yogyakarta-based artist, Antonius Subiyanto.

“Indonesia produces very good artists. Their works are very sophisticated and they have different techniques that help them creatively express themselves,” Dr Tan noted.

Singapore’s winner, Cruz, who received two commendations in previous UOB Painting of the Year competitions, was moved to tears.” This is my third award and, finally, a major award. I’m surprised but very happy.”