Story teller wins UK's biggest art award

Apr 24 2008 Karen Price

INDIAN artist N S Harsha, who tells stories through his paintings about everyday life in his homeland, has been named winner of the UK’s largest art award.

Harsha collected his £40,000 Artes Mundi Prize last night at a ceremony at National Museum Cardiff.

Harsha is a skilled storyteller who combines details of everyday life in his native India with world events and images seen on the news. 

He has turned the Indian tradition of miniature painting into a form that enables him to mix the specific with the universal.

Speaking after collecting his prize Harsha revealed that it was a double celebration because it was also his birthday.

He said: “I feel numb. It’s a great responsibility that’s been handed to me. Everyone believes in you and I have to take my work forward from here. It gives you strength to keep on believing.”

The artist is planning to share some of his prize money with the arts community, although he said he had not had time to think about how he will use his prize.

Among his work entered for the award is the painting Mass Marriage, which at first seems a gentle and amusing narrative on Indian marriage around the world. But on closer inspection, it also reveals loss, sadness and the complex nature of human relationships.

Harsha beat off competition from eight other finalists, including a duo, to win the prize.

Chairman of the judging panel Jack Persekian said: “We were impressed by the scope of his work and its range and variety of approach, from painting and installation to community activities.

“Basing his work upon his locality, cultural traditions and the shifting world of today, N S Harsha engages and connects with an ever-broadening public.”

The biennial award is the brainchild of Welsh artist William Wilkins and was launched in Wales in 2004 to recognise outstanding emerging artists from throughout the world.

Chinese artist Xu Bing won the inaugural prize for his installation made from dust from the Twin Towers in New York, while the second award was presented to Finnish artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila in 2006.

Two selectors – Isabel Carlos, a freelance curator based in Lisbon, and Bisi Silva, Director of the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos – travelled the globe to choose this year’s finalists.

The nominees then produced work for the Artes Mundi exhibition but the judges based their decision on work from the past five to eight years. They were particularly interested in pieces that added to the understanding of humanity and the human condition.

Work displayed in the exhibition ranges from film and installations to sculpture and textiles.

As well as Mass Marriage, Harsha has also produced a piece of work consisting of six large boards onto which are painted different figures sitting on plastic chairs. There are dark smoke signals daubed on each board.

The images represent communication.

And hours after arriving in Wales last month for the opening of the exhibition of the nominees’ work, he painted a floor mural which was covered with scatter cushions to invite children to interact with his work.

Heritage Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas said: “I am delighted to congratulate N S Harsha on receiving this prestigious prize. It is a significant achievement and I hope the prize will prove of great benefit.

“The Artes Mundi Prize is an important initiative that brings together artists from across the world to engage in cultural debate and it is one of the highlights in Wales' cultural calendar.”

More than 70,000 people visited the Artes Mundi show in 2006 and organisers expect high numbers once again this year. The work of the nominees is on show at National Museum Cardiff until June 8.

The Derek Williams Trust provides funding so that work by some of the shortlisted artists can be purchased for the national collections of Wales.