Shannon Field's 'Unnatural History (Bat Blue)' Wins 2026 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing
Victoria-based artist Shannon Field has been awarded the 2026 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing, receiving the $25,000 acquisitive award. Her winning work, 'Unnatural History (Bat Blue)', is a charcoal and oil paint stick on paper piece created in 2026. The artwork examines environmental fragility, disjointed representation, and the precarious state of modern ecosystems. Field's piece was chosen from forty-one finalists for the prize. The title cleverly references both nineteenth-century Natural History Museum practices involving colonialism and control, and current unnatural levels of animal destruction. The Adelaide Perry Gallery in Sydney administers the award.
Key facts
- Shannon Field won the 2026 Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing
- The prize is a $25,000 acquisitive award
- The winning work is titled 'Unnatural History (Bat Blue)'
- The artwork was created in 2026
- The medium is charcoal and oil paint stick on paper
- The work explores environmental precarity and ecosystem instability
- Forty-one finalists were considered for the prize
- The title references both historical museum practices and contemporary animal destruction
Entities
Artists
- Shannon Field
Institutions
- Adelaide Perry Gallery
- Natural History Museum
Locations
- Victoria
- Sydney
- Australia