Soal’s winning piece, entitled Imposed Structure to the Detriment of the Members, consists of cement cast into the shape of a deflated and scuffed soccer ball, through which a construction rebar has been forced. This sculpture lies on the floor, leaning up against the wall, as dejected, pierced and deflated as abandoned soccer balls often are.
The work speaks not only to the realities of growing up in a city environment, where soccer is played in the streets, on concrete and tar, but also to the relationship of soccer with South African industry. One example of this relationship is the 2010 FIFA World Cup. To this day, questions are posed regarding the event’s benefit for the country.
Soal’s artwork was chosen as the winner by the PPC Imaginarium Awards national judging panel. The panel included globally acclaimed contemporary artist Mary Sibande and Daniel van der Merwe (who heads the PPC Imaginarium Awards), in addition to renowned local artist Stephen Hobbs and UJ Art Gallery curator Annali Dempsey.
The national judges were also responsible for choosing the various category winners and runners-up, as follows:
Winner: Aleks Ashton
Runner-up: Daniella Sachs
Winner: Gabrielle Foulis
Runner-up: Nangamso Dana
Winner: Chris Soal
Runner-up: Franli Meintjes
Winner: Giovanni Zambri
Runner-up: Anton van Reenen
Winner: Phumulani Ntuli
Each of the category winners received R50,000 in cash with the runners-up getting R15,000, bringing the total prize money for the competition to half-a-million-rand. These winners were chosen from a record number of 62 national finalists from 302 regional entrants, topping last year’s number, which saw 55 finalists chosen from 869 regional entries.
Unlike in previous years, entries in the Architecture category will be showcased and judged at the 2018 Architecture ZA conference, replacing the Des Baker Award for outstanding work by an architecture student. “The winner will be seen as the best design student currently enrolled for a degree in architecture,” says Van der Merwe.
Works by all the national finalists, including the winners, will be on exhibition at the UJ Art Gallery until 25 April. The UJ Art Gallery has received a grant from Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) to support an educational workshop focusing on the power of innovation through the medium of cement. This free workshop will be held at the gallery on 3 May and is open to art and design students from any tertiary institution.
After its stop at the UJ Art Gallery, the finalists’ work will form part of the awards’ travelling exhibition, visiting platforms like the Turbine Art Fair and 100% Design South Africa 2018 in Gauteng, the AVA Gallery in Cape Town, and the KZNSA Gallery in Durban. “The initiative has enabled and empowered more artists and designers than any comparable project in South Africa,” says Van der Merwe.
The awards gala was held at the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery on 4 April.
