If you found it even harder than usual to find parking at Cottesloe Beach this weekend, there’s good reason for it. One of the world’s largest free outdoor sculpture exhibitions — Sculpture by the Sea — opened this weekend.
“What a perfect way to start the long weekend with Sculptures by the Sea once again captivating young and old alike on the Cottesloe foreshore,” said Tourism Minister Roger Cook of the launch.
The annual exhibition draws people from all over WA to the coastal suburb with its large-scale, thought-provoking pieces. In the past, some of the most photographed installations have included a series of yellow doorframes on the shoreline; a long, curved mirror wall; and a cartoonish inflated ‘goon bag’ just offshore. This year, the drawcard piece is a light beam, projected 2km into the sky from the end of the Cottesloe Beach groyne.
It’s the work of Japanese artist Takeshi Tanabe. He’s one of Japan’s most respected artists and is showcasing at Sculpture by the Sea as Tourism Western Australia’s Invited International Artist for 2023. Though he’s been a part of the exhibition both here and in Bondi before, he’s only ever shown his sculpting skills, having not yet installed one of his light pieces.
‘Between Sky and Earth (Exchanging Messages)’ takes Sculpture by the Sea into a new dimension, giving day time visitors and night time visitors completely different experiences of the exhibition. It pierces the night sky from around 7:45 pm to 11:00 pm each night. And, at 7:45 pm, 8:15 pm, and 8:45pm Cottesloe Beach will be plunged into darkness for 30 seconds before the installation is switched back on to give exhibition-goers a real-time experience of the speed of light.
Tanabe’s work joins that of 24 other artists from around the world, on display until March 20th.
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Lead image: David Dare Parker
