ArtLab artist, Shane Bradford, won the Celeste Art Prize with his work Moths on 27 May. The Celeste, despite being a young prize, has gained great credibility, particularly among artists. The prize is awarded by the thirty finalists voting during the course of the exhibition for the work they consider to be the strongest, thus awarding the prize money themselves.

Bradford’s winning work, entitled Moths, is made up of 56 modified and ‘dipped’ darts thrown into the wall in front of a hanging light bulb. The darts include cars, airplanes, soldiers, dinosaurs, explosions, syringes, butterfly wings, lolly-pops, horses, skulls, and guns. Each dart has its own individual narrative played out with story-telling colour combinations. The concept underpinning the work is hinted at in the title; collectively the items are based around the idea of mankind’s ingenuity in creating the means of his own destruction.

The work has its origins in 2004 and has been shown in museums in Norway and Lithuania. Each time it’s shown the work is modified to adapt to its surroundings; the artist therefore describes it as ‘semi site specific.’

For the Celeste prize 18 darts were added to the original and the work was installed by artists involved in the exhibition throwing a dart at the wall, aiming at the spot where the light bulb would be fixed. In this way the composition happens very naturally, and changes with each hang.