{"id":238355,"date":"2025-10-24T20:22:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/238355\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T20:22:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:22:20","slug":"the-peoples-guide-to-sculpture-by-the-sea-art-heatstroke-and-guilt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/238355\/","title":{"rendered":"The people\u2019s guide to Sculpture by the Sea: Art, heatstroke and guilt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size<\/p>\n

Considering its (allegedly) almost aborted<\/a> launch, it makes sense why the first thing you\u2019ll clock at this year\u2019s Sculpture by the Sea is the swarms of chuggers requesting a \u201cvoluntary contribution\u201d to support the art show. You might even wonder how voluntary it is after you\u2019ve been asked if you\u2019ve contributed more than five times within your first 10 minutes there. Is this a soft launch for a future admission fee? Tony Burke probably hopes so.<\/p>\n

Ironically, people seem prepared to pay to keep the art show free. Everyone loves sculptures, just like everyone hates the shame of being a freeloading scumbag. One of the volunteers told me he\u2019d seen people strong-arming their friends into chipping in, and kids running up to EFTPOS machines with their parents\u2019 Google Wallets wide open. Fun for the whole family!<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s not a giant piggy bank sculpture at next year\u2019s show, I\u2019ll be surprised. But for now, let\u2019s get on with this year\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

The artist\u2019s way<\/p>\n

Tim Storrier\u2019s Splotcher opens the exhibition at the Bondi end, a sculpture of an artist clutching a paintbrush and bucket, in a furiously determined pose, wearing a dunce cap with the word \u201cIDIOT\u201d on it. It\u2019s so life-like that two onlookers near me questioned if it was a street performer, waved their hands in front of its face, and awaited a reaction. This is what TikTok prank videos have done to us.<\/p>\n

\"Splotcher,<\/p>\n

Splotcher, by Tim Storrier.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

You could say it\u2019s odd to start an art exhibition with a work that labels artists as idiots, but maybe it\u2019s just a self-deprecating jab at the tumultuous life artists have chosen for themselves: a life that involves relying on NRMA and kids with Google Wallets just to have a place to show your work.<\/p>\n

Over at Marks Park, NSW artist Dale Miles offers a more generous view of the artist\u2019s life with his work Open Studio, in which he turns his studio space into a living installation so passersby can watch him happily at work. It\u2019s maybe too conceptual for most: I watched almost everyone walk right by it without a sideward glance, seemingly unaware it was an art piece, on their way to the food truck serving overpriced churros. There\u2019s another potential revenue stream for the event: start fining people for such blatant disrespect.<\/p>\n

\"Open<\/p>\n

Open Studio, by Dale Miles.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

Bigger is better<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s showstopper is Andrew Cullen\u2019s Rustle, a massive 11m-long water dragon made from intricately panelled recycled timber. It basks gloriously in the ridiculous 40-degree heat of mid-October, just to further remind you that us warm-bloods are doomed.<\/p>\n

\"Rustle,<\/p>\n

Rustle, by Andrew Cullen.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

On a similar scale is Brazilian artist Geraldo Zamproni\u2019s Vital Threads, a giant needle piercing its way through the cliffside, similar to the big red pencil he displayed in the same spot in 2019. Annoyingly, he\u2019s had it installed sideways, so you\u2019ll have to jog half a kilometre down the road just to get the eye of the needle in one of your phone snaps.<\/p>\n

\"Vital<\/p>\n

Vital Threads, by Geraldo Zamproni.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

The \u2018Boot\u2019, that giant sandstone rock near the Bondi end of the walk, this year belongs to Sydney\/Perth-based artist Kasane Low. Her work, Indra\u2019s Net, covers the rock in marine netting dotted with 500 porcelain fortune cookies. \u201cFortunes contained within the cookies reveal boundless hope and possibility,\u201d says her artist\u2019s statement, and yet all I can see is a beached whale trapped in a fishing net, covered in barnacles. Do I need medication?<\/p>\n

\"Indra\u2019s<\/p>\n

Indra\u2019s Net, by Kasane Low.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

Line up for the photo-ops<\/p>\n

NSW artist Drew McDonald, who won both the people\u2019s choice and kids\u2019 choice awards last year with his Dadaist half-banana\/half-shark work Sharnana, is back at it with SOMA, the most memorably absurd image at this year\u2019s event. It features two dolphins diving out of a shiny red toaster, which sits on a sandstone plinth. Like the banana-shark, you could stand there racking your brains about what it all means (a comment on warming oceans?) or you could just stare wondrously and enjoy it.<\/p>\n

\"SOMA,<\/p>\n

SOMA, by Drew McDonald.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Power of Knowledge, from Chinese artist LuLu, is a tilted seesaw with a giant boulder on one side and a copy of Marcus Aurelius\u2019 Meditations weighing down the other. As far as statements go, it\u2019s about as subtle as the boulder. But it won\u2019t stop kids or, say, a gentle reviewer who\u2019s just trying to do his job from trying to climb the seesaw and then drawing shame on himself and his publication when he\u2019s berated to \u201cdon\u2019t touch!\u201d by a volunteer.<\/p>\n

Graeme Pattinson\u2019s Phone Zone, a bright red TARDIS filled with vintage telephones, is more hands on. I saw a steady stream of bored grandchildren getting an education on what \u201cphones looked like in my day\u201d and learning the unnecessary phrase \u201cMaxwell Smart\u2019s phone shoe\u201d. And everyone says kids are the ones obsessed with phones!<\/p>\n

\"Phone<\/p>\n

Phone Zone, by Graeme Pattison.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

Begrudgement, a bronze statue by Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy from her wider series Declarations of Interdependence, speaks to my bitter soul. Two grumpy figures with bowl cuts and sullen expressions hover back-to-back, as though they\u2019d rather be anywhere else. There\u2019s a comic quality to the work that tips it enjoyably towards whimsy, so much that you wanna lean right there with them, your own little circle of annoyance.<\/p>\n

\"Begrudgement,<\/p>\n

Begrudgement, by Ruth Abernethy.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

Lucy Barker and Jane Gillings\u2019 Ways of Seeing is another interactive favourite, featuring kaleidoscopes made from salvaged 44-gallon drums. You\u2019ll be queuing beside it for what feels like hours, waiting while all the dorks get their selfies in an Insta-worthy mosaic. (Yes, I did it too, obviously.)<\/p>\n

Elegance in action<\/p>\n

Japanese artist Keizo Ushio, returning for the 25th consecutive year, again showcases his elegant touch. Oushi Zokei – Flight is an astounding twist of black granite, atop rugged Japanese sandstone, that brings to mind a whale\u2019s tail poking from the sea.<\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/p>\n

Artist James Rogers with his winning work, Siren\u2019s Song.Credit: Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

James Rogers Siren\u2019s Song, a steel sculpture bursting with fluidity and movement, won the $70,000 main prize. Even better, his artist\u2019s statement \u2013 \u201cSaltwater washes away disappointments among other things\u201d \u2013 is a quote from Master and Commander, every discerning cinephile\u2019s favourite sea movie.<\/p>\n

Further down the coastline is South Australian artist Georgina Mills\u2019 Unseen, a sculpture honouring the \u201cthe wisdom and dignity of the ageing woman\u201d. An elderly woman in a swimsuit, forged from acrylic resin, sits atop a marble pylon in quiet poise, passing judgement on anyone who dares stop for a selfie. \u201cI\u2019ve been swimming these ocean pools longer than you\u2019ve been alive!\u201d I can hear her yelling at me.<\/p>\n

\"Unseen,<\/p>\n

Unseen, by Georgina Mills.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

Spooky season<\/p>\n

Kerry Cannon\u2019s Envy might be the most fantastical sculpture on display, in a foreboding Brothers Grimm kind of way. Featuring the flat facade of a church surrounded by flying goblins, it\u2019s inspired by Goya\u2019s nightmarish Los Caprichos etchings, which will help you understand why you\u2019re immediately creeped out by it.<\/p>\n

\"For<\/p>\n

For Peace, by Ayad Alqaragholli.Credit: James Brickwood<\/p>\n

Further down the road sits Iraq\/WA artist Ayad Alqaragholli\u2019s For Peace, a bronze and stainless steel lounge chair that sits by the Tamarama cliffside with a Poe-esque raven perched on its arm. As I waited to take my turn on the seat, I overheard the artist telling an onlooker that \u201cPicasso was wrong about the raven\u201d, which is exactly the kind of thing you want to overhear an artist say. Now I just need someone to tell me what it means.<\/p>\n

Sculpture by the Sea runs between Bondi and Tamarama until November 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size Considering its (allegedly) almost aborted launch, it makes sense why…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-238355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}