Judges' comments

Sara Ussher's artwork creates a bizarre connection between times. It's like a cave painting. Only the Paleolithic artists depicted events relevant to their time, while Sara Ussher's focus is on the problems that a person of the modern era faces. In my opinion, this is a very interesting project. Brilliant idea and its execution!

Ekaterina Borodacheva

Sara’s acrylic work on natural stone stands out for its creativity and uniqueness. The paintings are well-polished, and the way each subject aligns with the organic shape of the stone is clever and impressive. A strong concept executed with care.

Max Liu

The artist skillfully utilizes the characteristics of stone as a medium—not only its texture, but also the inherent spatial form of the stone itself. This thoughtful use adds a strong sense of dimensionality to the composition, making the scene more vivid and sculptural.

Moon Q

Sara Ussher’s sculptural paintings transform ordinary stones into charged, symbolic environments. Each piece uses acrylic paint to carefully integrate social commentary, humor, and surreal narrative into the natural form of the object. The painted surfaces interact with the rock’s volume, turning static matter into a stage for ideas — from digital addiction to historical trauma. This series stands out for its sharp conceptual framing, combining craft, message, and visual wit in a compact and memorable form.

Nadiia Zhelieznova

The artist challenges the "stereotype" of the material itself. I believe that her use of hand-drawn forms as a counter-attack to digital creation is a subtle combination of content and form. In a sense, the stone as a carrier of the artwork appears to be a return to a primitive form of expression. Looking at her work, I see that illustration, a hard-to-define category in today's art world, is no longer limited to traditional book accompaniment, but rather a reappearance of the world and its spiritual realm as experienced by the artist.

Yimin Wang

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