The Artes Mundi prize has been awarded to multidisciplinary artist Taloi Havini. The accolade is considered one of the United Kingdom’s most important contemporary arts awards, it was conceived so that ‘it would allow, at an important stage in their career, established artists the freedom to develop a substantial body of new work or afford them the time to reflect on and consider new ideas.’ The artist will receive £40,000 ($77,197).
As part of the prize all finalists present their work across several venues, Havini is sharing an ‘ongoing investigation into the legacy of resource extraction and Australia’s fraught relationship in the Pacific.’
Havini, was born Bougainville, Nakas/Hakö tribe, and now lives and works in Australia. She commented ‘It is my hope that Welsh and wider audiences can find some connection to histories of extraction and the ongoing struggle for cultural, environmental and political self-determination that I speak to in Bougainville.”
In a shared statement the Artes Mundi 10 jury said, “As a jury, we were impressed by the depth and sophistication of all seven remarkable artists. It made for careful and involved deliberations. In selecting Taloi Havini as the winner of the AM10 Prize, we were struck by the integrity of her work which is exceptional in its research, deployment of Indigenous knowledge, ethics of relationality, and aesthetic rigour. Material, story and site form the ground from which she creates installations that are both moving and visually stunning. An artist of our times, Havini’s work transforms our understanding of human domination over the natural world to posit living otherwise as communal, with respect for our non-human relations and a non-extractive economy.”
Havini’s work for the Artes Mundi prize are on view at Mostyn in Llandudno, North Wales and Chapter in Cardiff.