An up-and-coming artist from Tasmania’s north-west has been honoured at a special ceremony in Launceston after winning the prestigious 2024 Art Rage Medallion.
Tegan Mateman’s winning work titled ‘Waddamana’ depicts the history of one of the state’s first power stations, located in Tasmania’s Central Highlands.
“The families and the workers would go to towns like these and then the mine would or hydro industry would close and everyone would leave their belongings and just move away for other work,” the Don College student said.
“I was inspired through my love of history and just the feeling I got from being there.”
“The village is currently in a state of disrepair, abandoned after the closure of the power station … It’s an insight into a time gone past where life was different to today.”
QVMAG Arts Foundation Chair Brian Hartnett praised Bateman’s piece as a powerful one.
“[It’s a] great insight for a young person to see into the lives and times of those people that live there at Waddamana and to give us some understanding of what their lives may have been like,” he said.
The Art Rage exhibition, now in its 29th year, is currently on display at the Salamanca Art Centre in Hobart.
