PLC Sydney is excited to announce that Sydney artist Jody Graham has been awarded the $25,000 acquisitive Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2022, for her drawing ‘Cinder Dance’.

The Perry Prize Exhibition of Finalists was officially opened on Friday 25 February at Adelaide Perry Gallery. Special guest speaker, and this year’s judge, Dr Andrew Frost, writer, critic, curator and documentary maker spoke of the high standard of works received. From over 400 entries, Andrew’s shortlist comprised of 46 works. From it, Dr Frost highly commended the entries of Margaret McKenna, Luanne Mitchelmore and Nadia Odlum, before announcing Jody Graham’s work as recipient of the 2022 award.

In a statement about ‘Cinder Dance’ Jody said, ‘While researching the Black Summer Fires I was impacted by stories from people who were affected. During this time I connected with Den Barber who runs Yarrabin Cultural Connections (YCC). Den is an Aboriginal Man, descendant of the Traditional Custodians from Mudgee of the Wiradjuri people in the central tablelands of New South Wales. What I discovered from Den helped me understand more about cultural burning and how it is all about caring for the environment. When I made ‘Cinder Dance’, I invited nature to participate in the process and submerged the drawing into a dam. I then used rocks and tree sap to mark and colour the drawing and hit and swung large charcoal branches at the drawing.’

Watch the Opening and Announcement of the 2022 Perry Prize Winner.