‘Quiet tension’: Artist crowned in Museum’s top natural science prize
A luminous glass crown is the clear winner of the SA Museum’s top natural science art prize, the artist behind the luminous headpiece taking home thousands of dollars.
Akie Haga has won the South Australian Museum’s Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize People’s Choice Award for her “beautiful and compelling” glass crown that references an Australian native flower.
Called “Soft Echo”, the luminous glass crown was a comfortable audience favourite, collecting more than 10 per cent of the 2000 votes cast for the 74 finalists.
Haga will receive a $5000 prize, building on $7500 she received when selling the crown after the exhibition opened at the Museum in April.
The Australian Capital Territory-based artist was also a finalist in the Museum’s Open category, which was won by Deb McKay’s “Ghost of Our Coastal Waters”.
“Soft Echo” is a glass crown shaped after the flannel flower, which Haga described as a meditation on memory, belonging and renewal.
“As a Japanese-born artist living in Australia, I navigate the quiet tension between two landscapes,” Haga said.
“My childhood memory of weaving clover crowns in Japan resurfaced through this Australian native, a fire-responsible species that returns after bushfire, its seed stirred awake by ash and heat.
“Formed in soft, translucent white class, subtly uneven and shifting, the work mirrors the nature of memory itself – fragile, luminous, and resilient through change.”
South Australian Museum director Dr Samantha Hamilton said it was “easy to see why” Haga’s crown resonated with audiences.
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“The piece is both beautiful and compelling, drawing people in and encouraging them to look more closely at the natural world,” Hamilton said.
“The diversity of the survey of works is one of the strengths of the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Price, and each artwork tells a unique story and connects with people in different and meaningful ways.”
Minister for Arts Kyam Maher congratulated Haga on winning the People’s Choice Award.
“It is great to see so many people engaging with this year’s exhibition and casting their vote, highlighting the important role arts and our cultural institutions play in connecting communities with science, nature and the environment,” he said.
“Soft Echo” will be on display at the South Australian Museum until July 19.
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