Art for Change: Meet the Winner for the Americas

Americas Winning entry - ‘Topographies of Fragility XXXV’ by Ingrid Weyland

Global creative solutions company M&C Saatchi Group, in partnership with London’s iconic Saatchi Gallery, present the six winners of their annual international art initiative for emerging artists, the Art for Change Prize.

With the concept of Art for Change in mind, this year’s climate focused prize invited emerging artists from around the world to explore one of the most urgent issues of our time and creatively respond to the theme ‘Regeneration’. The six winning artworks open a conversation to examine the theme from different global perspectives, look to create new stories of a liveable future, and empower individuals and entities to act. It’s a call to action for meaningful change, recognising that there’s no art on a dead planet.

Selected from over 3,000 entries from 130 countries worldwide, our six winners were decided by some of the best business and creative minds from the M&C Saatchi Group globally and eminent guest judges. In this Art for Change series, we hear from the winners for 2023.

The Art for Change Prize Winners exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London has been extended until 14th January 2024. Entry is free to all. The Art for Change Prize will return in Spring 2024.

Q> Describe yourself in three emojis.

Ingrid> 🙏🏻 🌱 🗺

Q> Why did you apply for the Art for Change Prize?

Ingrid> I was researching Open Calls, as I sometimes do, and I came across the M&C Saatchi X Saatchi Gallery Art for Change Prize. As soon as I read the word for this year's theme, REGENERATION, something inside me resonated, a gut feeling that my work was precisely that: hope, a possibility we, as humans, are given to help nature restore itself.

Also, I choose to apply to Art Open Calls instead of 'photography-specific' open calls, as I think photography still needs a better chance within the art world.

Q> Can you tell us more about where you are from and how this affects your work?

Ingrid> I was born and live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located at the southern tip of South America and extends to the South Pole on the Antarctic continent. Its position could make us feel disconnected from the rest of the world and its most influential art centres, but luckily, communications, globalization, and the new ways of participating in open calls online give us local artists a better chance to insert ourselves in the art world.

Buenos Aires is a beautiful and large city, but this also makes me crave nature; I often feel the need to escape the crowds and experience the outdoors; it's my relief, my "safe place"; it allows me to breathe and refocus, I feel empowered.

Topographies of Fragility XXXVI’ by Ingrid Weyland

Q> Tell us about your winning artwork and the relationship to this year’s theme ‘Regeneration’

Ingrid> For me, Regeneration means rebirth, transformation, renewal. Above all, Regeneration is HOPE, a possibility that requires us to get involved.

I look for a way to convey both beauty and decay at the same time. I want my work to make people stop and think about what humanity stands to lose due to climate change. Thinking about the vulnerability of nature, I work on enacting violent gestures on my landscape images, reshaping them until they become something altogether different. This operation on the printed photographic paper allows me to reflect on the permanent traces of my actions in a poetic allusion to our relationship with our planet.

But nature is wise, strong, and resilient; I feel it has the power to regenerate and breathe new life into itself, and each of us can play our part; we can change certain habits, however small they may be, if we all join in, we can start to make a difference.

Q> Where do you find your inspiration?

Ingrid> Art in general is very inspiring for me. Also books, short phrases, and words, I love to play with words. Nature itself can stir so many emotions in me, its colours, scents and textures, every tiny detail...

Q> Do you believe that art has the power to change the world?

Ingrid> Art and its emotional impact can be a strong advocate for climate engagement for both society and governments.

Since I first started working on this series, I have been pleasantly surprised to read comments from people who have written to tell me how my images made them stop and think and that they stuck in their minds afterward. A couple of professors have reported saying that they were inspired after seeing my work to put this method into practice in their classes: their students took sheets of paper and scrunched them up before trying to flatten them back again, observing how the lines remain and the folds cannot be undone. This later led to open discussions about our role in climate change. I found this very moving, as I never thought my work could have such an impact. This made me feel that I could maybe be of help, by reminding people of what we stand to lose if we don't change.

My current work doesn’t focus on specific local environmental issues but rather serves as a metaphor for the fragility of nature, as well as the fragility of humanity itself. Images are very powerful and can stay in the mind of the viewer for many years. I think photographers have the power to plant a seed of thought that can blossom into change.

Q> If you could be compared to one artist from art history, who would it be?

Ingrid> I wouldn't dare to compare myself, but I remember being struck by Caspar David Friedrich's work, as his landscapes spoke of solitude and the magnificence of nature. They evoked a sense of contemplation and a deep connection with nature. I also profoundly admire Olafur Eliasson and Edward Burtynsky, whose work is based on nature, with a strong environmental focus.

Q> What’s your dream for the future?

Ingrid> I am not much of a planner, I tend to experience life as it comes, and try to enjoy or accept things as they are. Everything that has happened to me and my work over the last few years has been a blessing and I’m extremely grateful for it. I would very much like to continue working and have time to keep learning about our role in this planet. I hope I can make a stronger impact. For me learning is essential. I desire in the future that more and more galleries will focus their collections on engaging viewers to consider their own relationship with the environment.