Taloi Havini is the the winner of the Artes Mundi 10 prize. Havini, born in Bougainville, Nakas/Hakö tribe, lives and works in Australia. She works in a variety of mediums, including photography, video, sculpture and installation to explore the intersections of history, identity and nation-building within the matrilineal social structures of her birthplace, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
Given biannually following an exhibition, the Artes Mundi prize comes with an award of £40,000. Each of the seven shortlisted international contemporary artists also exhibited a solo exhibition across five venues in Wales. Havini presented a major immersive video installation, Habitat, at Mostyn in Llandudno. The three-channel work continues her ongoing investigation into the legacy of resource extraction and Australia’s fraught relationship in the Pacific. The other nominated artists were Mounira Al Solh, Rushdi Anwar, Alia Farid, Carolina Caycedo, Nguyễn Trinh Thi and Naomi Rincón Gallardo.
‘I am elated and yet feel incredibly humbled to be receiving this prestigious prize’ said Havini. ‘It was an honour to have been
nominated alongside these fellow artists. I am grateful to the jury and Artes Mundi for this opportunity during what has been a very challenging time globally. It means a lot to me that my people’s Indigenous ancestral stories have had a presence in Cardiff and
Llandudno. It is my hope that Welsh and wider audiences can find some connection to histories of extraction and the ongoing struggle for cultural, environmental and political self-determination that I speak to in Bougainville.’
ArtReview is a media partner of Artes Mundi 10.
