community - 2026-08-12

Ceramic work and biodegradable surfboard share top honours in 2026 environmental prize

Source: manlyobserver.com.au

A ceramic sculpture inspired by discarded packaging and a surfboard prototype made with waste from kombucha brewing have taken the two major honours in the 2026 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize. Northern Beaches Council awarded $20,000 each to Scott Duncan for Choice Quality and to Nahum McLean, Stefan Lie and Ben Styles for The Motherboard.

A ceramic sculpture inspired by discarded packaging and a surfboard prototype made with waste from kombucha brewing have taken the two major honours in the 2026 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize. Northern Beaches Council awarded $20,000 each to Scott Duncan for Choice Quality and to Nahum McLean, Stefan Lie and Ben Styles for The Motherboard. Choice Quality is a large earthenware work measuring 200 by 65 by 38 centimetres and incorporating glaze, underglaze, nylon and timber. Duncan uses forms associated with everyday packaging, including fruit-box cardboard, to examine cycles of consumption, waste and renewal. Handmade beads made from waste clay and custom surface treatments give the work a layered, collage-like appearance. The sculpture contrasts rough, industrial-looking surfaces with lustrous finishes influenced by Italian Bitossi ceramics and Bendigo Pottery. Its retro forms and figures inspired by antique paper dolls connect questions about environmental responsibility with memory, material culture and the permanence of handmade objects. Judges described Duncan's visual language as playful at first glance but said the humour carried a considered reflection...