The People’s Choice for the 2020 Alice Prize is a striking charcoal drawing by well-known Adelaide based artist Margaret Ambridge.  The work, titled Struggling to Remember, (Burnt charcoal, compressed charcoal, raindrops on paper) was a clear favourite as voted by visitors who viewed the exhibition in person at the Araluen Art Centre.

1400mm x 740mm charcoal on paper, rain drops

Struggling to remember

Margaret Ambridge

I collected burnt branches from fire ravaged country and started drawing with the crumbled charcoal. I became immersed in the ‘scrub’ while I was drawing. The interruption of raindrops falling on the iron roof of the studio seemed so at odds with the rain parched land I was drawing.

I took the partly finished work outside and let the raindrops fall on the paper.

The charcoal ‘splattered’, and the paper sucked up the moisture. I continued adding charcoal, and the paper remembered where the raindrops had fallen.

Our land is struggling to remember.

74cm x 140cm burnt charcoal, compressed charcoal, raindrops on paper

Margaret Ambridge

Facebook: profile.php?id=100010241404043

Instagram: margaretambridgeart

Website: https://www.margaretambridge.com.au/