Premio Combat Prize

Jerusalem: Hava Nagila is a response to Trump and (subsequently Australian Prime Minister) Morrison’s decision to move their respective Embassies to Jerusalem: a provocation that will inevitably trigger repercussions in the perpetually fraught Middle East. Historically the social, political and religious wounds are dark and duodenum deep; the Wars of the Crusades, and every military offensive and unwelcome interference since, are now overlaid with clear and present danger and increasing affront. In this piece the celebratory dance of the Hava Nagila evokes strains of whirling dervishes, and the ammo is an intemperate live-fire exercise underscored by the unholy spectre of nuclear ‘treaty’. Trump’s latest announcement regarding Golan Heights has now cranked the threat threshold towards overload.
Since graduating in 2004 from the ANU (Canberra) School of Art Glass Workshop. Megan Bottari has followed an arts career encompassing gallery admin, critical writing and curatorial practice. More recently she finally established a studio workshop on the Far South Coast of NSW and has resumed her own art practice. A comprehensive bio/CV and back story is available on her website www.prisonersofthecrown.com