The third heat of Sky Arts’ Landmark aired tonight with Lincolnshire-based digital artist Jason Wilsher-Mills named the winner for the Midlands heat.
Hosted by Gemma Cairney, the heat saw Jason compete against fellow artists Luke Perry and Alfie Bradley to take the top spot and progress to the grand finale.
The winning sculpture delighted expert judges: Clare Lilley, curator and Director of Programme at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and artist Hetain Patel as well as the celebrity judge for this heat, poet, actor and writer Benjamin Zephaniah.
Jason specialises in digital art and his sculpture – The Corby Argonaut - consists of two interlinked elements – a four-metre synthetic inflatable balloon and an interactive virtual sculpture housed in a two-metre high vitrine. The piece is directly inspired by Jason’s friends and explores the effects of the pandemic within the disabled community. The work is bold in colour and purpose and challenges how art is created in modern society.
Digital artist Jason took the winning spot, having competed in the heat with steel sculptor Luke and multi-disciplined artist Alfie, with skills ranging from metalwork and technology to use of colour. The new series delves into the purpose and power of public art and forms Sky Arts’ mission to create the UK’s next major landmark.
Sky Arts will invest £700,000 in public art over the course of the series, with £250,000 dedicated to the final piece. This covers materials, artist fees and maintaining the regional and national landmarks for years to come.
