[press release]
Pannaphan Yodmanee wins 11th Benesse Prize, Zulkifle Mahmod awarded Soichiro Fukutake Prize
Benesse Holdings, Inc. (Benesse) and Singapore Art Museum (SAM) are pleased to announce that the 11th Benesse Prize, selected from participating artists of the Singapore Biennale 2016, was awarded to Ms. Pannaphan Yodmanee from Thailand. Ms. Yodmanee will be commissioned to create a work to be exhibited at Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Japan, in addition to receiving a cash prize of JPY 3,000,000 (including a visit to Benesse Art Site Naoshima) from Benesse. Mr. Zulkifle Mahmod from Singapore was also announced as the recipient of the Soichiro Fukutake Prize—a special award presented on the occasion of the inaugural Asian edition of the Benesse Prize.
The jury who was responsible for the shortlist selection praised the quality and diversity of the artistic discourses presented at Singapore Biennale 2016, a testimony to the vibrancy and depth of field of artistic production throughout the Asian continent. Commenting on Ms. Yodmanee’s nomination, Ms. Akiko Miki, as chair of the jury said: “Her painterly, sculptural and architectural work creates a unique, breathtaking landscape by mixing microscopic and macroscopic visions with Buddhist cosmology, traditional and modern techniques, and natural and artificial materials. We look forward to seeing how her critical sensibility could provide profound insights about human civilization, natural conditions, and spirituality in our contemporary age in the insular context of the Seto Inland Sea.”
Mr. Soichiro Fukutake, Founder and President, Benesse Art Site Naoshima commented on his decision to award Mr. Mahmod with a special prize: “I was deeply impressed by this particular work, skillfully incorporating voices and sounds collected from Asian migrant communities in contemporary Singapore. It is contemplative, triggering sensorial and poetic reflections on various social territories and the human environment, as well as on our lives.” The prize entitles Mr. Mahmod to a visit to Naoshima and the neighbouring islands.
The Benesse Prize, awarded since 1995 at the Venice Biennale, celebrates artists whose practices embody an experimental and critical spirit, and for their potential to develop a reflection around the theme of “Benesse” (well-being). After ten momentous iterations in Venice, the Prize moved to Asia in 2016, with the aim of strengthening ties with the continent in which Benesse is rooted and acknowledging the changes in the circumstances and environment defining contemporary art production today. The 11th Benesse Prize is presented in collaboration with SAM, the organizer of Singapore Biennale 2016 and was open to all artists participating in the Biennale. The artists shortlisted for the 11th Benesse Prize were: Martha Atienza (Philippines); Bui Cong Khanh (Vietnam); Ade Darmawan (Indonesia); Qiu Zhijie (China); and Pannaphan Yodmanee (Thailand).
The members of the 11th Benesse Prize jury are: Luckana Kunavichayanont, Director, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre; Dr. Susie Lingham, Creative Director, Singapore Biennale 2016; Akiko Miki, International Artistic Director, Benesse Art Site Naoshima and Co-Director, Yokohama Triennale 2017; Fumio Nanjo, Director, Mori Art Museum; and Suhanya Raffel, Executive Director, M+.
Past Benesse Prize winners (awarded at the 46th to 55th editions of the Venice Biennale):
1st Benesse Prize (1995): Cai Guo-Qiang (China)
2nd Benesse Prize (1997): Alexandros Psychoulis (Greece)*
3rd Benesse Prize (1999): Olafur Eliasson (Iceland / Denmark)
4th Benesse Prize (2001): Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller (Canada)
5th Benesse Prize (2003): Rirkrit Tiravanija (Thailand)
6th Benesse Prize (2005): Tacita Dean (UK)
7th Benesse Prize (2007): Adel Abdessemed (France, Algeria)
8th Benesse Prize (2009): Hans-Peter Feldmann (Germany)
9th Benesse Prize (2011): Adrian Villar Rojas (Argentine)
10th Benesse Prize (2013): Anri Sala (Albania, France)