There is a dynamic quality about Parul Gupta's ‘Notes on Movement- Layer #115’. In the work, she has created layers of the same drawing, one on top of another, thus achieving an animated, pulsating effect. And now, ‘Notes on Movement’ has won her the grand award at the The 2023 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, which is the 19th edition of Asia's longest-established award for contemporary art.
“Alisa Chunchue, of Thailand, is awarded the Vogue Hong Kong Women’s Art Prize of US$5,000 for her work, Wound, a meditative drawing that references surgical stitches and suture patterns. Cop Shiva, of India, is awarded the Public Vote Prize of US$1,000 for his work, No Longer a Memory, a playful dedication to the artists’ relationship with his mother,” states the press note by the Sovereign Art Foundation, which has instituted the prize.
Some of the other artists from India, who were shortlisted for the award include Indu Antony, Priyanka Singh Maharjan and Shrimanti Saha. The other artist from Asia, who was part of the shortlist, and stands out for her work includes Latifa Zafar Attai, who was born in Afghanistan and holds a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Beaconhouse National University, Lahore. In her work, Self Portrait, a black-and-white portrait of the artist is embroidered with black and red cotton threads. Through this, she has drawn attention to the female identity, which is often forgotten in the patriarchal society back home. “She embroiders the pain; stitching untold stories that society refuses to acknowledge,” states the note on the Sovereign Art Foundation website.
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A board of 61 independent art professionals nominated artists from 29 countries for the prize. The finalists were shortlisted by a panel including writer-curator and museum director David Elliott, curator-educator and writer Yuko Hasegawa, artist-educator Christopher K Ho, independent curator Siuli Tan and winner of the 2022 prize Azin Zolfaghari.
Gupta was nominated by curator, arts educator, and founder-director of LAND, Kriti Sood. “Winner Parul Gupta’s work explores the idea of movement in architectural spaces as a generator of perceptual experiences, as well as notions of geometry and light. Her perception is moulded by suggestions of shifting lights, shadows, and perspectives, essentially morphing space into a dynamic entity. The work feels as though it is charged by a magnetic field, with its own gravitational push and pull,” states the press note.
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