Teo Treloar has received the 2020 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award (JADA) from Grafton Regional Gallery, during a ceremony held last Friday (2 October).

Teo was recognised for his work, This Is Impermanence, for one of the most prestigious drawing prizes in the country.

The award was announced during an online ceremony, hosted by Niomi Sands, Director of Grafton Regional Gallery, and media personality Rove McManus.

The JADA celebrates drawing in all its forms, from the expressive and the abstract, to hyper-realism.  The prize is worth $35,000.

This Is Impermanence is a graphite pencil drawing that reflects on multiple ideas, including Teo’s experiences with depression and anxiety, contemporary concepts of masculinity, the master engravings of Albrecht Durer, the existential literature of Franz Kafka, and the music of the post punk band, Joy Division.

The drawings featured in the work are intended to present a speculative visual platform for viewers to engage with; allowing them to deconstruct the image and find meaning on their own terms. Teo’s drawing is a manifestation of these experiences and ideas.

It was judged the winner of the JADA by Peter McKay, Curatorial Manager of Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art.