Yhonnie Scarce was announced as the winner of GNAP17 at the exhibition opening at the Art Gallery of Ballarat on Fri 24 March 2017 for her work, The More Bones the Better, 2016.

The GNAP17 judge, Simon Maidment, Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria said;

“The winning work by Yhonnie Scarce captures the sensitivity to materials she displays throughout her artistic practice. The blown and shattered glass elements are a delicate contrast to the shocking and little discussed histories of Aboriginal exploitation and abuse in the name of science in Australia.

Engaging this topic, this work is haunting, in the same way those lived and documented experiences continue to haunt the collective unconscious of this country. Yhonnie Scarce’s work, The More Bones the Better 2016, I believe makes an important contribution to the Collection of Federation University Australia and will engage and move diverse audiences with its technical accomplishment, beauty and message.

I thank Mark Guirguis and the staff of the organisation for creating this important opportunity for an Australian artist, and the other artists, who would all be worthy winners.”

Read more about Yhonnie Scarce's work.

The $20,000 national, biennial, acquisitive, contemporary Guirguis New Art Prize is generously sponsored by local surgeon and philanthropist, Mr Mark Guirguis, Administered by Federation University Australia, GNAP17 is presented at FedUni's Post Office Gallery in association with the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Find out more about GNAP17>>