top of page

Hunter Emerging Art Prize
Finalists and Winners

YEAR:

2026

Category:

Painting

Artist Name:
Katie Ellen Wilkins
Title:
When a flower sleeps
When a flower sleeps
Materials:

Ink, dye and thread on canvas

Dimensions:

50 x 60 cm

Price

550

About the artwork:

This work was made during a period when my father-in-law died within days of the birth of my niece, Iris. The two events occurred on opposite sides of the world and marked a moment where one life ended as another began.

The work is built through a repeated structure of stitched threads over layers of stained dye. The staining process allows for a degree of unpredictability, while the stitched elements require slow, deliberate decisions. I am interested in the tension between these opposing conditions: control and surrender, intention and chance, structure and instability.

The shifting forms emerge through accumulation rather than illustration. They suggest movement, transmission and interruption without resolving into a fixed image. For me, the work reflects the experience of navigating events that feel deeply connected yet remain beyond explanation—moments that remind us of how little certainty we have about where we come from and where we go.

  • Facebook - White Circle
  • Instagram - White Circle

NEWCASTLE ART SPACE 2020

The website was funded by the Australia Council for the Arts Resilience Fund.

bottom of page