Jury

Wax, Writing, 40 x 25 x 6 cm, 2025

This artwork explores the relationship between writing and power in the contemporary art world. It examines how major galleries, influential art critics, and institutions shape the perception of art by defining what is valuable, meaningful, and worthy of recognition.

At the core of this piece is the act of deconstructing and reshaping materials produced by these influential sources ― books, magazines, and written discourse that dictate artistic value. By breaking down these materials and combining them with wax, the work symbolically dismantles the established framework that governs artistic legitimacy and hierarchy, suggesting that the structures defining artistic value can be dissolved and reformed.

The work is moulded into the shape of an open book, referencing the presentation of sacred texts while simultaneously undergoing fragmentation―an object that appears sacred yet is inherently delicate and unstable. The piece invites viewers to question the influence of institutional narratives in art, emphasising that the authority of written discourse is not absolute. Just as wax can melt and reform, the definitions of art and artistic value are not fixed; they can be reshaped, reconsidered, and challenged.