Yorkshire Sculpture Park announces winner of Yorkshire Graduate Award

Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) has announced its 2024 Yorkshire Graduate Award winner as Leeds-based artist George Moody.

George has a multi-disciplinary practice that spans bio art, sculpture, photography, installation and digital technologies. They are inspired by the ideas of Queer Ecology (the combination of Queer theory and Eco-criticism), to tune into the unique rhythms of nature.

Recent projects include “It Ends With You”, a title addressed to the natural materials within the installation which featured 40 petri dishes of decaying foliage and mould suspended in mid-air in a darkened theatre space. By experimenting with features of performance design such as lighting, sound and staging, Moody invited audiences to witness how the mould transformed in the environment over a period of 2 days. They viewed this work as a ‘love note’ to a material they have used widely in their practice, which will outlive humans due to its complex and adaptive nature.

At YSP they hope to extend these ideas and work in the Park’s natural landscape to develop sustainable materials. George will collect and combine water samples from the lake with decomposable bioplastics made from algae to produce a series of seasonal ‘bio paintings’, experimenting with natural and artificial light forms to activate these works. They hope to learn about the lifespan of bioplastics and how the natural environment will impact the material’s growth, culminating in a public event at the end of their residency.

George, who has recently graduated from the University of Leeds with an MA in Performance Design, can now look forward to a residency of up to two weeks at YSP, including access to facilities and time with the technical team. They will also receive a £750 fee and £250 for materials to develop new ideas, as well as invaluable support from YSP’s curatorial team.

They said: “Inspired by the ideas of Queer Ecology, my work seeks to attune to a ‘nature’ we haven’t reckoned with just yet; one that transgresses our conceptions of nature as mute and passive to the climate crisis. I’m always questioning how to get closer to the spaces and paces of a queer ecology.”

“My work is always material-led, asking what I can do to fall in step with the traces of a slippery ‘nature’ that we encounter unknowingly on an everyday basis. Queer notions of intimacy and care always inform how I engage with natural matter and unstitching their simplistic narratives.”

They added: “Receiving the award feels like an incredible opportunity to see my work flourish in a place I have been inspired by for years. It is incredibly validating to know the curatorial team recognise what my practice strives to do and wants to support its development. This opportunity will be one that shapes my future and I will always be enormously grateful for that.”

Louise Lohr, YSP’s Deputy Curator said: “Each year we’re so impressed with the standard of applications we receive – there’s an incredible amount of talent in the region. We’re delighted to be able to support George and look forward to seeing how their work develops.”

For over 47 years, artist residencies have been at the heart of YSP, offering opportunities for emerging artists to reflect on and move forward with their creative practice. Launched in 2018 to help nurture regional artistic talent, the Award attracts an eclectic mix of entries that feature a variety of mediums including sculpture, installation, performance, film, photography and audio. The annual residency is open to recently graduated BA or MA artists from any Yorkshire-based university.

Previous winners include Astrid Butt in 2023 who uses animal-human hybrid characters to explore femininity, motherhood and domestication. Influenced by the style of classic David Lynch horror films, during her residency Astrid used YSP’s 500-acre parkland to full effect, shooting expansive and atmospheric footage for her new short film. She explained: “Getting the Yorkshire Graduate Award has been an incredible opportunity. The time I have spent at the Park has been unforgettable. YSP has given me the opportunity to balance my skills, compensated me for my work and time, and given me a platform to share my art with the public, for which am endlessly thankful.”