Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2016 (3)

“Paradise lost”

Sydney October 2016 (14 photos)

Sculpture by the Sea is back for 2016, now in its 20th year. There are 104 sculptures by 103 artists from 17 different countries this year. Originally a one day exhibition in 1997, this year Sculpture by the Sea runs from 20 October to 7 November.

FAIR DINKUM OFFSHORE PROCESSING, by Bronek Kozka.

Statement: Response to how successive Australian governments treat some of the most at risk and vulnerable people on the planet.

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“Lifesaver, there’s a rhino in my beach”

BURIED RHINO, by Gillie and Marc Schattner.

Statement: An interactive sculpture of a rhino buried in the sand that raises conservation awareness on the plight of these beautiful, vulnerable creatures.

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“Oarsome”

IN AWE, by Rebecca Rose.

Statement: Why did our ancestors pick up oars and journey across the ocean? Adventure, opportunity, necessity? New waves of migration continue. The oar is a symbol of guidance and teamwork: strength in unity.

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“If I could turn back time”

THE WINDOW OF THE FUTURE, by Sang Sug Kim.

Statement: Working in stone and bronze, transferring traditional materials into contemporary sculptures. Ideas come from my dreams and from exploring cultural resources and civilisation to inform my act of representation.

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“Nature’s spirograph”

WITHOUT A BEGINNING AND WITH NO END, by Nyland & Beale.

Statement: The wind is the element that connects everything. The wind dances, twists and swipes the charcoal over the paper.

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“Bridge to troubled waters”

THE CROSSING, by Michael Snape.

Statement: None provided.

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“Let it go”

A WEIGHTED EMBRACE, by Elyssa Sykes-Smith.

Statement: The artist explores the figure through this site-specific installation that expresses our universal human impulse to grasp on to ideals and the refusal let go, regardless of the personal burden it can induce.

It may be a bit difficult to appreciate but the wooden figure on the right is a human figure.

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“Invader”

ALIEN – SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS IS A VIRUS FROM OUTER SPACE, by Angelika Summa.

Statement: A reminder: we should not give in to what makes us afraid.

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Over at the Weekly Photo Challenge, the theme is Transmogrify – to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.

This is exactly what happened to Sculpture by the Sea this year. At about 4:30pm on the 4th day of the exhibition, a King Tide hit the east coast of Sydney. The first time this has happened during the exhibition’s 20 year history. All of Tamarama beach, including part of the promenade was completely underwater for part of the time. The walk between Bondi and Tamarama Beaches was closed off.

The waves were relentless.

All the Sculptures in this post were affected.

Completely destroyed was FAIR DINKUM OFFSHORE PROCESSING.

Almost completely destroyed was A WEIGHTED EMBRACE.

Washed into the ocean and damaged: ALIEN – SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS IS A VIRUS FROM OUTER SPACE.

Damaged but repaired: Every other sculpture in this post.

Fortunately, some of the sculptures had deep concrete bases.

Walking back past Tamarama Beach after sunset at 7pm, the destructive waves were still coming.

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This is Part 3 of my 5 part Sculpture by the Sea Bondi 2016 series. Please click the link to see my previous yearly Sculpture by the Sea Bondi series going back to 2013.