Jaguar and the RCA Celebrate Emerging Talent with the Inaugural Jaguar Arts Awards
The first-ever Jaguar Arts Awards spotlighted five rising artists from the Royal College of Art, with sculptor and designer Jobe Burns taking top honours for his striking project ‘Intimate Conversation’.
Summary:
- Created in partnership with the Royal College of Art, the Jaguar Arts Award champions emerging artists through the ethos ‘Copy Nothing’, inspired by Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons.
- Jobe Burns received the Gerry McGovern Award for ‘Intimate Conversation’, a sculptural piece exploring craftsmanship, materiality, and dialogue through salvaged materials and automotive finishes.
- Additional awards recognised Yvann Zahui, Emma Goring, Ali Bartlett, and Annabel MacIver for innovative works spanning photography, sculpture, and mixed media.
There were five winners of the first-ever Jaguar Arts Awards this year.
The award, created in partnership with the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London to champion emerging creative talent, invited Master’s students in Fine and Applied Arts to complete a project based on the brief ‘Copy Nothing’ – a creative ethos inspired by the pioneering vision of Jaguar founder, Sir William Lyons.
Each winner received a bursary upon graduating from the RCA, designed to support their development as independent artists. However, the standout talent was Jobe Burns, a British sculptor and designer from Walsall, UK, who received the highest honour – the Gerry McGovern Award – for his project ‘Intimate Conversation’.
‘Intimate Conversation’ is a sculptural work consisting of two sculptural bodies in dialogue, connected by rusted rebar salvaged from the RCA’s construction site. Layers of automotive candy paint create a saturated orange-red spectrum, with each surface refracting light uniquely to reveal depth and movement from every perspective. Inspired by Jaguar’s colour ethos, the work celebrates craftsmanship while rejecting imitation.
Burns piece stood out not only for its technical excellence but also for its conceptual depth. The two shifting forms cleverly embody Jaguar’s ‘strikethrough’ motif. The award grant has allowed him to scale up his sculptural ambitions, relocating to a rural studio to develop large-scale public works. “Jobe’s work in particular embraced the philosophy of creating pieces that evoke emotion through storytelling, and his inherent use of colour and modernist forms aligned well with Jaguar’s ethos, emphasising an authentic artistic expression.” Professor Gerry McGovern OBE, JLR’s Chief Creative Officer, said speaking on the award.
Yvann Zahui was named runner-up, receiving a Jaguar Award for ‘Auto-Portraits’, a photographic triptych that reimagines the car as an extension of self. The three additional Jaguar Awards were presented to Emma Goring for ‘Modern Tradition’, Ali Bartlett for ‘Illuminated Silence’, and Annabel MacIver for ‘Colour Wheel’, each recognized for outstanding creative achievement.
Scroll up to see the works.
