Hosted by Aesthetica Magazine, the Aesthetica Art Prize is a celebration of excellence in art from across the world. It offers both emerging and established artists the opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience, and further their engagement with the international art world.

This year, the art prize exhibition ran from 14 April – 29 May, at York St. Mary’s Church. From ecological concerns to transitions in urbanisation and developments in technology, the 2016 presentation instigated a cohesive commentary on the way we inhabit the earth. Questions of material and personal value align with definitions of virtual and physical realms; depictions of natural landscapes defy tangible realities; and an awareness of time is envisaged in elements of light and sound.

As well as the main winner and student prize, the People’s Choice award invited the public to vote for their favourite artwork in the exhibition. Ellie Davies received the most votes with her 2014-2015 series Stars.

The work explores the artist’s desire to find some balance between a relationship with the wild places of her youth and a pervasive sense of disconnectedness from the natural world. Mature and ancient forest landscapes are interposed with images captured by the Hubble Telescope. The series considers the fragility of our relationship with the natural world, and the temporal and finite nature of landscape as a human construct.

Credit:
1. Stars 1, (2014-2015). Courtesy of the artist.