BankWest opened last night...

Finally that's out of my system! Immense sense of relief once we got back to the car and drove home...

I was totally exhausted and ended up falling asleep whilst watching Not Quite Art on the ABC... much to my regret. Luckily enough they are available to download (bottom left-hand corner of the page). Good and critical series that provides a 'bit' of a wake up call.

For the record, Olga Cironis won the $15,000 award - it was the obvious choice. Just as Lisa Wolfgramm's image jumped off the wall last year, Olga's work commanded the main space.

Bit of a mixed bag in relation to the show, but Penny Coss, Jánis Nedéla and Tori Benz all had very strong - if not stronger than Olga's - work on show.

My prediction that Britt Salt would win never eventuated even though she is lastest 'It' artist by all accounts.

Penny Coss' work was very strong last year and this new piece has more dynamism to it. It is a bold piece that envelopes you as you view it... a few stamps are thrown on for good measure as well. The acoustics in PICA are particularly bad so it's hard to get a 'clean' experience with the noise of the opening and significant crowd traffic. The piece will be much stronger with more serene surrounds.

I also liked Tori Benz's work - The Prize - which has a poetry and intensity to it that I find appealing.

The show runs from November 1-25 at PICA.

See also: BankWest Prize brings Freedom over at TheWest.com.au