Louis Pratt

Prize recognises sculptor's skull

The Sydney Morning Herald, October 31st 2006

It was a case of sixth time lucky for Louis Pratt, who has won the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize for The Ambassador's Skull. The artist,has entered the $10,000 prize since its inception six years ago and was a finalist for the past three.

His bronze and stainless steel skull was modelled on a detail from Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors, a 16th-century painting that plays with distortion and perspective.

Pratt said he wanted to use sculpture to impose a new dimension on the image.

"The skull is a recurring motif for me; [the sculpture] returns it to a three-dimensional form," he said.

Pratt's work was chosen from 41 finalists. Past winners of the prize include Jessie Cacchillo and Craig Waddell, whose joint work, Ruby Rabbit, won last year.

"It is nice to be in with that group of contemporaries," Pratt said.

The exhibition runs until Sunday at the Woollahra Council Chambers.

Emily Dunn

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