With Fieldays fast approaching, entries for this year's Number 8 Wire art competition are in and judge Tony Nicholls is getting ready to select the best.
A Hamilton artist, Tony has won national prizes for his kinetic sound sculptures.
For Tony, the winning piece will have a good concept as well as sound construction.
"I don't like art that is all concept at the cost of the object, I like a marriage of the two," he said.
This year, 14 entries have been selected as finalists for display at ArtsPost on Victoria St.
Tony will select the winner by judging the photographed pieces, a process he finds hard as he would have preferred to see the objects themselves.
"I'm looking at each work [in terms of] what they say in their artist statement and seeing if that statement actually matches the work. "
The winner will be awarded $8000, the first runner up $1000, and the third placed artist $500.
There is also a President's Award from National Fieldays Society president Warwick Roberts. The winner of this award will receive $100.
Each piece has to be made of at least 75 per cent number 8 wire.
The awards event is on Thursday, June 4, at ArtsPost, 120 Victoria St. The exhibition opens the following day.