BA Fine Art student selected for John Ruskin Prize 2019

Third year BA (Hons) Fine Art student Emilia Symis has been selected for the John Ruskin Prize 2019.

In its 5th year, The John Ruskin Prize is a nationwide call for established and emerging artists and designers aged 18 or over living, working or studying in the United Kingdom. 

With an overwhelming response to this year’s prize theme Agent of Change, 41 artists and designers, working across a broad range of disciplines, have been selected from over 1260 entries for The John Ruskin Prize 2019. 

Emilia’s diptych Nostalgia will be exhibited in the award. She comments: “This diptych is inspired by the strange food combinations found in childhood sweets. The off-putting imagery found within the paintings are juxtaposed with the sickly sweet scent that these pieces possess.

The left canvas is varnished with a banana fragrance oil and the right is varnished with a cherry one, creating a nostalgic aroma of a sweet shop. I like to experiment with the relationship between seduction and repulsion, whilst adding a multi-sensory element to enhance the artwork; Nostalgia is an example of this.”

Winners will be announced on Thursday 11th July. The shortlist exhibition, Agent of Change, will be on display from 12th July – 24th August 2019 at The Holden Gallery in Manchester. The exhibition will be free and open to all.

View more of Emilia’s work on her Instagram.