The winner of The Press People's Choice award 2008 is Katrina Thomson, for her work "Monumental Ignorance". Unsurprisingly, the work is a sculpture of epic proportions. Standing at over two metres in height and three metres wide, this painted wooden carving of a stage-like curtain is deceptively realistic in it's craftmanship. The curtain's surface hangs, folds and ripples much the same as any real fabric, which makes viewing this piece greatly rewarding upon realizing the medium of this work is something as unforgivably solid as wood.

The skilled execution & presence of this piece is matched by its conceptual clout. The reticence of this blockade which is as alluring as it is obstructive, manages to say a lot without saying anything at all, giving the viewer a chance to quietly ponder the motivation & meaning behind this curtain.

The people's choice award is a competition involving the finalists from the COCA Anthony Harper Award as contestents. The public were given the opportunity to vote for any piece of work within the award show, using entry forms obtained from COCA, the arts pages of The Press, or online voting through the COCA website.

Dylan Taylor

[27th June, 2008]