AN OTHERWORLDLY artwork giving a peek into the endless portal of the universe has taken out the top gong at the 2022 Lake Art Prize.
It took local artist Braddon Snape a decade to create the piece, crafted using metal inflating techniques.
"I have been developing inflated works for nearly ten years now and really got to perfect my craft during the lockdowns were I added the aspect of light into the work," he said.
"The artwork is three parts of stainless steel which is inflated by cold air with a lot of pressure to make it blow out and buckle.
"There's a special personal satisfaction [in winning] because I'm a Lake Macquarie born person, so it kind of feels like people have finally recognised who I am in the place where I came from."
The theme of the competition was 'the vessel: contained within and moving between,' and invited artists to explore that in their own form.
Judge Brett Adlington said Mr Snape's work, Allusive Object, stood out among a high calibre of artworks.
"It was a very commanding piece," he said.
"It has a great play on light as the object is a dark space, so it uses light to encompass an area that is bigger than itself and for us, this really spoke about that theme of a vessel in a really unique way."
The piece went on exhibition on Friday at the Museum of Art and Culture, yapang, alongside 65 finalists in the $25,000 Lake Art Prize - one of the richest art prizes in regional NSW.
There were close to 400 artworks entered in the competition.
Museum of Arts and Culture, yapang curator and operations coordinator Courtney Wagner said she was blown away by the calibre of artists.
"We received entries from right across Australia, from both established and emerging artists," she said.
"I want to congratulate not just Braddon Snape, but every artist who entered their work, and particularly those shortlisted as finalists.
"As well as purchasing Snape's work, we've also purchased highly commended artist Vipoo Srivilasa's ceramic sculpture of a figure SERPENT I."
Three other artists received high commendations for their work, including Liss Finney for her sculptural installation Adventures to Far Off Places, Michael Brown for his painting Ocean Eyes and Laura Nolan for her sculpture Resting Stillness.
The pieces are on exhibition until December 11.
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