The winner is Sydney artist Locust Jones.

Jones won the $20,000 award with his entry entitled Ride It 'Til It Dies, a 10-metre visual work in ink, commenting on the human race and the global state of affairs.

Hazelhurst invited regional, national and international artists to submit works on (or principally with) paper for the 2009 Hazelhurst Art Award.

It is one of the biggest art competitions in southern Sydney, and the gallery received almost 800 entries.

The award also featured the Friends of Hazelhurst local artist prize of $5000, which was won by Paul Williams with his work Variation on the Theme of Boxing and Other Matters.

The work features a variety of materials including gouache, oil stick, charcoal, texta, enamel and pencil on a variety of papers.

A total of 82 artists are featured in the exhibition, including local artists Belinda Allen, Joseph Bezzina, Betty Bird, Katthy Cavaliere, Tamara Dean, George Gittoes, Christopher Lawrie, Dean Sewell and Peter Sharp.

A range of paper media is in the exhibition, such as pencil drawings, charcoal, ink, oil, acrylic, gouache and watercolour, photography, print making and paper animation.

Nominations for the people's choice award of $1000 will close on August 7.

All nominations entered go into a draw to win a $100 gift voucher, redeemable on goods and services from Hazelhurst.

The exhibition is on display in Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Community Gallery until August 16.