Queer artist wins big
Queer artist and 2011 Mardi Gras Art Prize winner Liam Benson was last week awarded the 2011 Hazelhurst Works on Paper Prize for his photographic self-portrait, A Christian Country.
The prize, valued at $20,000, was judged by artist Ben Quilty, winner of the 2011 Archibald Prize. The announcement was made as part of the Hazelhurst Art Award 2011 Art on Paper exhibition.
Benson, whose works previously showed at the Artereal Gallery in May as part of the Head On Photo Festival, is a performance artist who documents his work through photography, video and new media. Using himself as his primary model,
Benson said he aims to “deconstruct the social perceptions of gender, race, culture, sexuality and identity”.
A Christian Country is a digital photographic print featuring Benson clad in body paint representing the Australian flag and wearing a tiara bearing the words ‘A Christian Country’. The work focuses on national as well as gender identity.
Benson, who is undertaking an artist residency at Arteles in Haukijärvi, Finland this month, will use the prize money as he works towards his next solo exhibition at Artereal Gallery in 2012.
