Wednesday, 22 August 2007

MIT sculpture student wins top regional arts competition

Innovative and playful could aptly describe Manukau School of Visual Arts student, Monique Jekel’s (21), winning entry into the tertiary section of the Manukau Youth Awards held at Te Tuhi recently.

Monique’s work “Magic Mirror Boxes” saw her achieve the top award and receive excellent feedback from the judges. Curator of Contemporary Art at the Auckland Art Gallery, Natasha Conland, commended the sculpture to the gathering, calling it a clever and sophisticated work.

Despite this high praise, Monique says while hopeful she was pleasantly surprised at her achievement having never won an art award before. “My work has been selected for display in previous years, but I have never won anything before now. I am really pleased!”

The fourth year Bachelor of Visual Arts student is majoring in sculpture with a focus on viewer interactivity and practical functionality in art.

“I was very interested in the interactive aspect of sculpture last year and came up with these kaleidoscopic mirror boxes that the viewer can wheel around on the ground. This interest led me to explore the relationship that people have with everyday items such as furniture, which I am exploring this year.

“I am currently working on developing my own art objects that exist on the boundary between sculpture and furniture. Most of my works have a fun and playful aspect to them and I think that Magic Mirror Boxes reflects this. I encourage anyone to interact with any of my works and to have fun with them!”

Looking ahead, the Pakuranga resident hopes for a creative career in furniture design.

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