Sweet sixteen, or so they say. This year Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe turns sixteen. Hovering under a financial cloud, and the threat of moving to another beach, this unique outdoor gallery of 70 amazing sculptures needs your support like never before.
This year Cottesloe Beach has been covered in 70 pieces from 17 countries. The pieces that stood out for me were:
- Merry Gate by Uchida’s from Japan (see below)
- Dichromatic by Rhiannon West England/NSW (see below)
- Duet Knit by Karl-Christian Geleff from Denmark (see below)
- You Are My Life by Ayad Alqaragholli from Iraq (see above)
- Homer Homer by Cool Shit from Portugal/NSW
- Thinking It Up by Stephen Marr from NSW
- Converse by Henning Meeves and Claire Molloy from WA
- S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Disorder) by Geoff Overheu from WA
- Flutter I and II by April Pine from WA
- Echos III, IV, V by Sally Stoneman from WA
- Shark Woman by Tania and Evi Ferrier from WA
A lot of the little children were drawn to the child-like images of Journey by Yuko Takahashi from Japan/WA.
Also of note was the “Living Sculputure” by Koa Art Collective from Germany. I was enthralled watching the three artists forming shapes under the cloth.
WA Sculpture of the Year
This years winner was Sam Hopkins with his piece entitled 2030, a sight he says will be “all too familiar”. His aim was to increase awareness amongst city residents about what’s happening in the bush. See winning image on The Ponder Room.
2020 Tourism WA Invited International Artist.
Included amongst them is award-winning Japanese artist Haruyuki Uchida, one of the world’s most prominent kinetic artists. His piece is mesmerising from any angle. The 7.5 metre long sculpture uses magnets to create a Merry Gate. It’s the largest gravity defying sculpture he has made outside of Japan.
Other international highlights include Karl-Christian Geleff (Denmark), Dave Glass (Portugal) and Vaclav Fiala (Czech Republic), exhibiting alongside some of WA and Australia’s leading sculptors.
Bendat Family Foundation WA Invited Artists Program
This year, Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe and the Bendat Family Foundation announcde the inaugural recipients of Foundation are: sculptors Olga Cironis, Tony Davis and R.M (Ron) Gomboc, with Davis also set to join the Decade Club after exhibiting at Cottesloe for a tenth year.
Beach Access Days
I’m thrilled to say that for anyone with limited mobility the popular beach access days are back. Held on Tuesday 17 March – Thursday 19 March there will be special matting installed which will enable visitors with limited mobility and those using manual wheelchairs to access the sculptures located in specific areas on the beach.
School program
The Alcoa School Education Program also returns to Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe for school-aged children and their teachers. Over 28,368 school students having participated in the program since its introduction in 2005. Approximately 2,000 primary and secondary students will participate in artist led practical sculpture workshops, focus tours and artist talks during the exhibition.
Each year approximately 200,000 people visit the exhibition. This year we are being asked to consider donating $5 ($10 family) to help the artists. When you consider its costs each artist an average $18,000 to exhibit, $5 is not a big ask.
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe runs from March 6 to 23rd. Don’t forget to check out the free shuttle bus service that takes you right to the exhibition. For more information go to Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe
