On the final day of the churchie national emerging art prize finalists’ exhibition, we are excited to announce the 2019 People’s Choice Award winner, Jordan Azcune.

Azcune will be awarded $3,000 thanks to Madison Cleaning Services and a lucky voter will receive a Jardan bed linen package and a night at The Calile Hotel.

Jordan Azcune’s sculptural wall-based work, A greater light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night (2019) references ornamental Christian stained-glass windows. Separated into light and dark, the sculptures and their title contemplates the understanding that a day ends and begins at sun down, as in the Byzantine tradition (Azcune 2019). Dusk, the transition of day into night, is often considered a special time on religious occasions. It is a time of celebration or offering, in particular at Passover—the only religious rite celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses, the tradition that the artist was raised in. Pure beeswax candles create a new kind of offering for Azcune, one disassociated from religion; a stoic, imperfect, and transgenerational sacrificial gift, abstracted from its genesis (Azcune, 2019).