Sculptures by the Sea 2013

Another year at the largest sculpture exhibition in the world.

Some things stay the same: the heat, the crowds, the little fat men (from Danish artist Keld Moseholm), and the same sort of things that just stick upwards.

Different this year: many more pieces that were obviously made from "found" or recycled (rather: re-used) materials.  Some of those works had a cheap feel to them (lots of plastics, some of them clearly not post-consumer waste).  Some, like Subodh Kerkar's Chicken Cafreal, had so much structural integrity that it was not obvious what it was made of.

For me, the clear standout was a staircase to infinity by New Zealander David McCracken.  My eyes were constantly drawn to it; I've not been so attracted to a Sculptures work for a few years.  My 11-year-old son felt the same, but interestingly my 12-year-old daughter wasn't moved: "What's so special about it?"

On the other hand, we all agreed we loved the crows - Mikaela Castledine's East of the mulberry tree - the legend of the ten red crows.  Such rich colours.

Sculptures by the Sea is on until November 10.

Sculpture by the sea 2012

From Bondi to Tamarama beach, up to 4 November, Sculpture By The Sea is apparently the biggest sculpture exhibition in the world.

Here's a selection: my three favourites.  Some more of my photos are available on this web album.  My kids both took lots of photos; I still haven't gone through them yet, but they should be good.

Come back (Nakayama)

 My favourite: a granite portal, facing out to sea from a granite chair. It has strength.

Kalaidoscope cube (Ritchie)

I tried to capture this one reflecting its environment. Again, a very well positioned work.

Capital tension (Rhodes)

 I did like this for the tension between the bull and the bear.

 

 Another one - in my above web album - looked odd, but the meaning was not very obvious until I read up on it: a marking of the height of that tsunami in Japan. Very salient for the site. Have a look. Exhibition ends this Sunday.

Sculptures By The sea

Every year in November, Sculptures By The Sea comes to Sydney: an exhibition laid out on the coastal walk from Tamarama beach to Bondi.  That's only a few beaches away from us, so it's a regular treat for the family.  It's become more and more popular each year - so crowded, in fact, that it's much like Pitt St mall at lunchtime.

This year, I've posted to Picasa a lot of photos from the event. Despite my attempts to crop them to suit, you can tell what a crowd it was by the number of people milling around them.  (It was very hard to take pictures without people standing right against the sculpture.  Many seemed to think the photos should be more about themselves than the art work - thus sullying forever their souvenirs of the art.)

Here's my photo album:

2010 Sculptures by the sea

It's not a full set of the exhibition - just the ones I felt motivated enough to capture.  There's also a bonus photo this year: a whale was spouting in the distance.

I got the catalogue, but deliberately set out to appreciate each art work purely in situ.  If you want to know the name of the artist and work, right-click on the image as if to save it, and the title will be revealed.  However, there's one work I couldn't spot in the catalogue.  If anyone can find out what the untitled photo is, please let me know.

Flake wins my prize for the most ingenious: a traffic light that had seemingly been ripped out of of its location, complete with trailing electric cables and an old bike leaning against it.  Apart from that and the adaptable migrant (the camel above), my favourites were splash and anaconda (immediately above), both for their vibrant colours on a very bright day.

Sculptures by the Sea - 2008

I know this is rather late, but I can record at least a couple of items that struck me in last November's exhibition of sculptures placed on the walk between Tamarama Beach and Bronte Beach.

First up is the one that made the biggest impression on me. I liked its strength, and its unexpectedness.

Interface by Michael Lipman

"my aim is to create the interface between the ocean and man. The ocean is turning back the iron road as its force cannot be controlled."


My wife's vote (and my next favourite):

Mongrel country - nil tenure by Amanda Stuart

My six-year-old son's vote: Poroplastic 2 [an exploded motorcycle] by Richard Goodwin

My seven-year-old daughter's favourite:

Humpback gunship by Benjamin Gilbert