Lady Skollie (born Laura Windvogel) remarks on her win: “As someone who never fit in, someone who dropped out of art school, someone who only got South African representation at the age of 31, winning a local art prize makes me feel like my existence in it is validated.” Filled with bold colour, god-like figures and suggestive fruits, Lady Skollie’s work revolves around themes of gender, sex and the politics of lust, as well as her musings on identity.
The FNB Art Prize has become one of the coveted visual art prizes on the African continent. In addition to a page on the online fair (taking place 6-18 November on www.artjoburg.com) and a cash prize, Lady Skollie will be awarded an international residency to be booked in 2021-2022. Last year the FNB Art Prize shifted format to include the residency, in aims to offer deeper support in building sustainable careers for African artists.
We are proud to announce Lady Skollie as the 10th FNB Art Prize winner. Her rendition of art has challenged society's norms to evolve; and be present through the many social challenges that we face. Art is an evolving medium and through the years the FNB Art Joburg platform has ensured that we continue to support and recognise talent across all art mediums. Congratulations Lady Skollie,” says Bonga Sebesho, head of FNB Sponsorships.
Lady Skollie is an artist from Cape Town, South Africa. She graduated with a degree in History of Art and Dutch Literature from the University of Cape Town in 2009 and will hold her second solo exhibition, BOUND, with Everard Read Gallery on 11 November. The exhibition directly references various writings by and about women in captivity, women in isolation, women in shackles, chains, manacles and collars; she wonders about cages, revenge, tunnels with the light at the end but more times absolute darkness and a life spent expecting to be released from evil.
The 2020 FNB Art Prize recipient was selected by a committee made up of Khwezi Gule, chief curator, Johannesburg Art Gallery; Aspasia Karras, publisher; Sunday Times Lifestyle, Edit, Edit Man, Business Day Wanted and Sowetan Magazine; and Nicole Siegenthaler, fair manager, FNB Art Joburg. Of Windvogel’s win, Karras says: “Lady Skollie has an incredible energy and an inherent vigour that makes her work both timely and timeless. Her work feels of the moment – it speaks to the greater narratives in our country, sometimes with wit, sometimes with poignant beauty."
