Hentie van der Merwe scoops Sasol Wax Art Awardby Michael Smith
Johannesburg-based artist Hentie van der Merwe has won the 2008 Sasol Wax Art Award, joining previous winners Jeremy Wafer (2006) and Walter Oltmann (2007). He beat out four other finalists, namely Stephen Hobbs, Avhashoni Mainganye, Brett Murray and Tracey Rose to take this coveted and lucrative award. The announcement was made by Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Ntombazana Botha at an award ceremony at the University of Johannesburg on October 18. Van der Merwe receives prize money of R130 000.
The Sasol Wax Art Award is distinct from many other competitions in that it funds production of the five shortlisted proposals to a maximum of R20 000 each, making the award exhibition essentially a show of new, commissioned work. From these the overall winner is selected. Another distinction is the proviso that artists make work that utilises wax as part of process, medium or concept.
However, this is sadly the final year that the competition will be running, as Sasol has discontinued its funding, citing a reevaluation of its sponsorship policy spend and intimating that such funds will be moved into more directly community-based initiatives.
Van der Merwe's work, a video-installation piece entitled Reaching New Frontiers, deals with issues of art production and patronage. On a video screen, an unnamed man in formally dress slowly recites Virgil's poem 'The Georgics' in its original Latin, with accompanying English subtitles appearing on the screen. The poem deals metaphorically with ideas around labour through a description of bees and beekeeping.
The video is installed inside a makeshift office cubicle manufactured to minimum dimension specifications as determined by the government. The wallpaper of this cubicle, which at first appears purely decorative, is in fact a grid of thousands of tiny Sasol logos. The elision of Sasol with government seems intentional, apparently questioning whether the divide between business and political rule is still intact.
This arguably marks the first time a winning entry in this competition has been directly critical of corporate patronage generally, and Sasol specifically.
Other works on show included Mainganye's multi-disciplinary sculpture/painting installation, a video and accompanying performance by Rose, a video installation by Hobbs and a temporary public sculpture by Murray.
