“You can’t put any old sculpture next to each other; they have to fit comfortably next to each other,” Handley said. “[We had] sculptures coming in on schedule and still installing those, while working out how we’re going to rearrange the exhibition to take into account the delays and confirmation that we couldn’t have a sculpture on the lookout … It was a challenge.”
While rockfalls are an omnipresent threat along most Sydney coastlines, they are rare and unpredictable by nature, said Bruce Thom, emeritus professor of geoscience at the University of Sydney.
“It is not something we can predict, or something we can say will happen tomorrow,” Thom said.
“Bondi has Hawkesbury sandstone, which are big blocks that fall at the top of the cliff, and they may fall from a combination of different causes, including waves, spray and rainwater infiltrating into the cracks of the rocks and weakening the cohesion among the rocks.
Waverley Council said drone surveys of the entire coastline identified a defect in the rock overhang beneath the lookout at Marks Park in September, prompting the closure of the lookout.Credit: James Brickwood
“The walk goes along the [Bondi] cliff, and it’s basically a safe walk, but we have these incidents. Cliffs are there for a reason; they have been attacked and deformed. That’s how they exist.”
Waverley Council said drone surveys of the entire coastline identified a defect in the rock overhang beneath the lookout at Marks Park in September, prompting the closure of the lookout.
“Following safety advice and out of an abundance of caution, taking into account the weight of vehicles and machinery required for the installation of an artwork … coupled with anticipated high visitation numbers … Council made the decision to close access to this particular viewpoint,” council said in a statement.
Loading
But for Handley, securing a $200,000 lifeline from corporate donors amid budget shortfalls three weeks from the event was more challenging than the reshuffle.
“The big worry was the financial,” he said. “Reshuffling where we put in sculptures – that issue was a bit more than normal. The real challenge was financial.”
The exhibition ends next Monday.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.