Mayo sisters among This Is Art! winners

TWO Mayo sisters have been named among the winners in the RTÉ and Creative Ireland Programme This Is Art! national competition, which celebrates young artists of all abilities.

Lottie and Rosie Billington from Westport won the group category for their entry, 'Surf On Turf'.

Working to the theme ‘This Is Extraordinary’, almost 2,000 entries were received from young artists aged 18 and under who created an original piece of art that will be showcased in an online art gallery for generations to come. In so doing, the competition promotes artistic practice among young people and encourages and supports creativity, originality and self-expression.

Selected works will feature also on billboards across the country and on social media as part of a campaign by the Creative Ireland Programme and RTÉ.

Lottie and Rosie created their Surf on Turf collage with materials found in their uncle's shed and garden. They drew a rough idea onto paper and then transferred the idea into three dimensions, using grass as their canvas.

They explained: “We love making mad stuff out of art so it’s really exciting that we won, we were dumbfounded, so excited about it.

“Art can be anything, it doesn’t have to be paint or what we did in the garden.There’s loads of forms of art and you can use anything for art, it doesn’t have to be a real thing, it can be abstract.”

Said judge Amanda Coogan (visual artist) about their work: “Lottie and Rosie, I adore your piece. What a brilliant collaboration; making such a fun piece together!

“I admire how you transferred a drawing on paper into a three-dimensional real-life sculpture. That you used everyday objects and transformed them into art and that you both perform in the piece too! Your uncle's shed is a treasure trove and hurls are magical!

“Super congratulations and hope you continue to make more great collaborative works together.”

The girls talk about their entry here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Te7CC4lUZ8