Artist: Ted Prior
Artwork Name: Love boat
Medium: white mahogany, tallow wood decking, enamel paint
Date Created: 1996
Co-winner of the museum’s 1996 Lake Macquarie Biennial Acquisitive Sculpture Prize, Love Boat is symbolic of human relationships. It acknowledges the initial closeness of early love but by setting the two figures back to back, suggests a rocky ride could ensue with each partner seeking independence. The implication of unrest is enhanced by the seesaw aspect of the piece, with the puppet-like figures joined by a central vertical core affixed to the boat shape and mounted within a deck anchored by six bollards.
Ted Prior was born in Sydney studied at the National Art School in Sydney, earning a diploma in 1969 in Painting. From 1971 to 1974 he taught at the Newcastle Art School before moving to a farm in 1975. Prior's art mediums include drawing, etching, sculpture and assemblage.
Best known for his children books series Grug , Prior still lives in the Hunter Region where he retired after being an art teacher for several years.
Joint Winner, Lake Macquarie Sculpture Acquisition Prize, 1996 Supported by Arts NSW.