It's a stitch-up! A hand-crafted collaborative work has won the People's Choice Award in this year's Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award.

It was decided by votes cast at ArtsPost Galleries & Shop in Hamilton Kirikiriroa, where the exhibition is open daily until Sunday, July 2.

Entitled ‘The Gate', the award-winning sculpture uses a variety of traditional and contemporary stitching techniques displayed on an adapted farm gate.

It was made by Josina Ellis, Liz Wilson, Sue Truman, Barbara Rosenberg, Sue Lynch, Marianne Lock, and Katherine Fell, known collectively as Waikato Creative Stitchers.

The Waikato Creative Stitchers with their winning work ‘The Gate'. Pictured from left: Katherine Fell, Sue Truman, Barbara Rosenberg, Josina Ellis, Liz Wilson, Sue Lynch, and Marianne Lock.

Speaking on their behalf, Liz Wilson says the group was absolutely thrilled to hear that their work had won the People's Choice Award.

'This collaborative piece has been so much fun to work on, with each of us contributing slightly different stitch or textile techniques, but melding into a cohesive work.

'Thanks very much to the public who appreciated and voted for our piece. Also thanks to the organisers of the Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award. We are very grateful to you all!”

Made from upcycled tootara battens and the ubiquitous No.8 wire, the textile components of ‘The Gate' were created from natural fibres such as wool, cotton, and jute.

The artists' statement accompanying the work describes it as a reflection of the farming practices of reuse and recycling utilised by communities both past and present.

Now in its 26th year, the annual Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award competition is hosted by Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato and supported by the New Zealand National Fieldays Society (NZNFS). Artists are challenged to transform the iconic farming product No.8 wire into art and compete for a share of nearly $10,000 in prizes.

The 2023 winner was announced at the exhibition opening on May 25, with this year's guest judge, sculptor Hannah Kidd, selecting the strikingly geometric sculpture ‘Connectivity' by Hawke's Bay artist Ricks Terstappen.

Second prize was awarded to Jeff Thomson and Bev Goodwin for their piece ‘Cyclonic' and third place went to John McKenzie for ‘641E9372'. New Zealand National Fieldays Society's Board Chair Jenni Vernon selected ‘In Case of Emergency...Break Glass' by Heather Olesen for the Chair's Choice Award.

The finalists' artworks are on display until Sunday July 2 at ArtsPost, located at 120 Victoria Street, Hamilton Kirikiriroa. Entry to the Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award exhibition is free, and all works are available for purchase.

The 2023 Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award winners are:

First prize

'Connectivity” by Ricks Terstappen, Hawke's Bay

Second prize

'Cyclonic” by Jeff Thomson and Bev Goodwin, Helensville

Third prize

'641E9372” by John McKenzie, Te Aroha

Chair's Choice award

'In Case of Emergency...Break Glass” by Heather Olesen, Morrinsville

People's Choice award

'The Gate” by Waikato Creative Stitchers: Josina Ellis, Liz Wilson, Sue Truman, Barbara Rosenberg, Sue Lynch, Marianne Lock, Katherine Fell

The 2023 Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award finalists are:

Dagmar Elliott, Te Awamutu
Teuila Fatupaito, Hamilton
Helen Fuller, Waiheke Island
Tony Gray, Morrinsville
Asaki Kajima, Hawke's Bay
John McKenzie, Te Aroha
Jane Mortimer and Dave Sole, Hamilton
Heather Olesen, Morrinsville
Susan Rhodes, Hamilton
Ricks Terstappen, Hawke's Bay (two works)
Tira, Kaikohe
Jeff Thomson and Bev Goodwin, Helensville
Dinah and Mark Walker, Auckland
Yasmin Yussof, Canterbury
Waikato Creative Stitchers: Josina Ellis, Liz Wilson, Sue Truman, Barbara Rosenberg, Sue Lynch, Marianne Lock, Katherine Fella