By David Klassen
Two University of Manitoba art students have won the honour of having their work on display at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto.
School of Art student Sherrie Rennie was the national winner of the recent BMO Financial Group’s “1st Art! Invitational Student Art Competition 2010.”
Rennie won with her porcelain sculpture Inner-city “Bred” (above), an autobiographical piece showing an isolated, gritty, and grey loaf of bread. It addresses issues of a fractured childhood of neglect, abandonment and abuse, says the artist.
“I did the piece to bring awareness to the fact that not everyone lives the same lifestyle or grows up in the same environment as everybody else, Rennie said. “And I think those who have lived in inner-city poverty, and that sort of thing, need to be aware that they don’t have to remain victims, that they can choose to be survivors instead.”
Fellow sculpture student Laura Magnusson won the Manitoba competition with her sculpture What I Know of Mermaids, a piece that explores the dialogue the artist wishes to have with her elapsed childhood. It’s the sixth time a U of M student has won in the competition’s six-year history.
Both sculptures will be installed at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and the two artists will attend the exhibit’s opening at summer’s end where they will also receive their awards and honours, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively.
Handout photo/Sarah Anne Johnson
