South African artist Simon Max Bannister has been announced the 2013 David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s Wildlife Artist of the Year.
He received the award on 3 June at a prize giving event at the Mall Galleries in London, for his piece Long Journey from Londolozi – a large sculptural trio of giraffe.
Bannister accepted this prestigious award of ₤10 000 from wildlife artist and conservationist, David Shepherd CBE and special guest and DSWF supporter, David Gower.
The prestigious competition, in its sixth year, honours exceptional wildlife art from around the world. The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation is a UK-based charity funding key projects in Africa and Asia working to save critically endangered mammals in the wild. “The entries were quite magnificent this year and Simon is a very worthy winner,” said wildlife artist and conservationist, David Shepherd CBE who launched the art competition in 2008 to raise funds and awareness for endangered wildlife. “From the judges’ point of view the drama and technical excellence in all the work was quite breath-taking.”
Simon Max Bannister, who is currently based at Londolozi Game Reserve as artist in residence, has been creating sculptural artworks for 3 years. After working with his degree in Graphic Design he started to experiment with expressing his creativity through alternative means, including earth, stone, leaf, water, light, shadow and even plastic. “It is ultimately the creative processes of nature that inspire his creative endeavors,” said Bannister.
He has participated in events such as Site_Specific, AfrikaBurn, Infecting the City and the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown. He has created multiple private commissions for wine estates, game reserves and educational facilities. While keeping a diversity in materials, his style is unique and his passionate creativity is in tune with the climate of the times. For more information on his work, visit
