The winning creation modelled by Ronnie Lesbian sculptor and special effects artist Magdalena O'Connor has won a first place at the New Zealand Body Art Awards by turning a man into a "horny cow". Hours of late-night work and a “lot of blood, sweat and tears” went into the cow-humanoid creation, which took out the masquerade section in the Incredible India-themed competition. O'Connor used wire and paper mache to build the horn and head sculpture, then cast the ears and face in latex for a realistic soft-look. The piece is personal to the Auckland artist, who is a double-Taurus. “So it's actually a self-portrait,” she giggles. “It's me as a cow." One a more serious note, O'Connor says winning and being proud of what she has created are both important. “If you win and you're not happy with what you've created, it's no good. But winning is really important. It makes me feel like I have been recognised by my peers and within the community, which is definitely important.” She says the standard of entries at the New Zealand Body Art Awards, held at Auckland's Bruce Mason Centre on Saturday night, was again extremely high this year. “I just looked around and was amazed, it was great backstage seeing people's creations. A lot of first-time painters that are really, really good already. So we have lots of competition to look forward to.” During the day, O'Connor teaches art to kids at Youthtown in central Auckland – and has been wowing them with her creations. She already has five or six more art projects on the go and is hoping to hold an exhibition of her weird and wonderful creatures at some stage.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 6th October 2010 - 2:03pm