Acclaimed Australian sculptor Braddon Snape has been announced as a finalist in the 2025 Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, now in its 16th year. Snape’s entry, Act of Suppression (mirrored union) (2024), was selected from a record 735 submissions—a testament to the work’s technical innovation and conceptual strength.
The sculpture features a compelling interplay of materials—mirror-polished and inflated stainless steel with welded and powder-coated elements—typical of Snape’s explorations into pressure, containment, and form.
The judging panel included Professor Emeritus Barbara van Ernst AM, sculptor Dan Wollmering, and Leanne Willis, Senior Manager of Art Collection and Galleries at Deakin University. Of the hundreds of entries received nationally, just 42 were shortlisted for the finalist exhibition.
The finalist exhibition will be on view at the Deakin University Art Gallery from 28 August, with the announcement of winners taking place on Wednesday 3 September. The award includes a $15,000 acquisitive prize and a $3,000 Highly Commended prize supported by UniSuper.
Braddon Snape continues to cement his reputation as a leading voice in contemporary sculpture, with a practice deeply engaged in material exploration, dynamic form, and spatial tension.
Braddon Snape is an established Newcastle-based Australian artist whose sculptural and installation practice spans more than 25 years and engages deeply with materiality, form, and site. Known for his conceptually rich and poetically minimal aesthetic, Snape’s abstract works often reference place, history, human endeavour, and the natural world. A key development in his practice is the performative technique of inflating steel—an innovative process developed during his PhD research that explores the tension between control and chance, described as Action Sculpture. His work has been exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, with highlights including seven appearances at Sculpture by the Sea, and finalist positions in the McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, and the International Sculpture Festa (ISF) in Korea. Major public commissions include Clouds Gathering (Maitland), The SubWharfyen (Sydney Wharf, Pyrmont), and Landcom Vantage (Port Stephens). Snape’s work is held in prominent public and private collections in Australia, the UK, Korea, China, and the USA. He currently lectures in Sculpture at The University of Newcastle and is the Director of The Creator Incubator, a leading artist studio and gallery initiative in the Hunter region.
