Congratulations: Jimmy John Thaiday

Congratulations also goes out to Jimmy John Thaiday of Erub Arts, and who is a Kuz and Peiudu man, on being awarded the Telstra Multimedia Award (2023)—and for the second time in his career—for the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards! Of his video installation, Just Beneath the Surface, the judges said:

Ethereal and emotive, the imagery of Jimmy John Thaiday being caught and strangled by the ghost nets is haunting. 

The artist’s work is a testament to our responsibility in protecting Country, the ocean and all living things, because without our natural resources there is no human life. The viewer is drawn to a series of imagery that reveals just how vulnerable island life is today. We need to ensure that it is preserved and maintained for future generations.