How 100,000 broken egg shells have been turned into a work of art

The Aesthetica Art Prize was founded to showcase contemporary art and with this year's winner just announced, Sarah Freeman takes a look at the highlights.
Timeframe by Jennifer Lopez Ayala. Credit Jim Poyner Photography.Timeframe by Jennifer Lopez Ayala. Credit Jim Poyner Photography.
Timeframe by Jennifer Lopez Ayala. Credit Jim Poyner Photography.

There is temptation at every turn at the Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition. Housed in what was a former church in the centre of York, in one quiet corner a piece of bamboo, which sways as though it’s been caught in a gentle breeze, cries out to be touched.

In another, visitors are positively encouraged to takeover Henry Driver’s work Odyssey. With the footage played out an a collection of old school TV sets, a keyboard passes the control of the images to the viewer.

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However, it’s in the nave that the biggest draw lies. Each side of the central walkway is lined with crisp white egg shells. There’s 100,000 of them apparently in Jennifer Lopez Ayala’s Timeframe and the temptation to test that old adage by walking on them almost proves too much.

This Much I'm Worth by Rachel Ara won the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016.This Much I'm Worth by Rachel Ara won the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016.
This Much I'm Worth by Rachel Ara won the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016.

Now in its ninth year, the prize shortlist featured an impressive international role-call of artists from Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, the UK and the USA.

All their work will be on display in York St Mary’s until the end of next month, but as ever there can only be winner. While the People’s Choice Award, revealed at the end of the exhibition, will likely go to Ayala and those egg shells, the judging panel have given this year’s main £5,000 prize to Rachel Ara.

This Much I’m Worth (2014-2016) is both beautiful to look at and a pretty impressive piece of computer trickery. Linked to the internet and using a series of complex algorithms, the counter, surrounded in neon, continually displays its own sale value.

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“All the works explore how we inhabit the earth and engage with some of today’s most pressing topics, from ecological concerns to transitions in urbanisation and developments in technology,” says Cherie Federico, founder of both the art prize and the York-based arts magazine Aesthetica. “Many of the works are site-specific, inviting visitors to discover something truly unique and inspirational. Visiting the exhibition is a great way to engage with contemporary art.

This Much I'm Worth by Rachel Ara won the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016.This Much I'm Worth by Rachel Ara won the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016.
This Much I'm Worth by Rachel Ara won the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016.

“Ara’s work is made from materials, like red neon, that resonate with the sex trade. It seeks to question the value we place on objects and people and asks who has the right to apportion these values.

“York St Mary’s always lends a pretty special atmosphere to the exhibition and this year is no different. The entries we get for the prize always throw up some surprises and they often take on a completely different shape in this space, which is nothing short of stunning.

“The Prize has always been about giving artists a platform and providing a showcase for contemporary art and it’s just always lovely to see the work displayed in one exhibition.”

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At the opening night of the exhibition on Wednesday, David Hochgatter was also named as the Student Prize winner. For his installation TIME TO X (2013-2014) he cut a short audio file into even smaller fragments which are then played simultaneously through 96 loudspeakers so that every acoustic element of the sound is constantly audible.

As well as the 10 shortlisted works, the exhibition also features displays of the other 90 works which made it on to the longlist.

Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition, York St Mary’s, to May 29. There is also a series of related talks at York St John University on May 26 & 27. For more details visit aestheticamagazine.com

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