“Beyond the black stump”
Sydney November 2015 (14 photos)
The 19th annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Bondi has come and gone. This free public event, ran from 22 October to 8 November, and included 107 main exhibiting artists from 19 countries around the world. It was held along the 1.2km coastal walk between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach. I went on the final days to take a look at the sculptures.
ASHES TO ASHES, by Kim Perrier.
Statement: A relationship between a tree and humans, where shared spirit is invoked as a mystical wonder and manifested as human nature, sharing a common identity with the tree and its skin.
Initially I walked past this sculpture thinking it was a hollowed out tree. It wasn’t until I came around the other side and got closer that I realised there was so much more to it. Absolutely fascinating.
…
“Before he grew up, Skippy liked to pack heat”
TROUBLED YOUTH, by Jimmy Rix.
Statement: As a continuation of the “Roo Shooter” series, this is a comical look at mothers’ dilemmas – even joeys can be a handful!
…
“Rolling tide”
BJF13, by Ben Fasham.
Statement: The artist continues his exploration of balance and curved forms, further experimenting with stainless steel and bronze.
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“Twisting by the pool”
LISTEN TIME PASSES, by Barbara Licha.
Statement: The work brings different memories to viewers and allows them to reflect on the past, present and future.
I thought this was simply mesmerising.
…
“Memories; light the corners of my mind. Misty water-coloured memories of the way we were…”
MINDEN JO LESZ 1953 (ALL SHALL BE WELL), by Kathleen Berney.
Statement: From Budapest to Bondi. The work represents the artist, child of refugee boat people, on a slippery dip in this exact location in 1953. Childhood memories slide in and out of consciousness.
A trio of vignettes of the artist’s childhood in this exact spot, demonstrating the power of an old photograph to stimulate the memories and emotions. Sepia just seems so right here…
Memories; light the corners of my mind
Misty water-coloured memories of the way we were
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time rewritten every line?
And if we had the chance to do it all again
Just tell me, would we? could we?
…Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were.
…
“It came from beneath the sea”
UNDULATION, by Benjamin Storch.
Statement: This work magnifies the connection between fluid motion and form in marine organisms.
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“Well, there’s something you don’t see everyday…”
FLYING FISH, by Gillie and Marc Schattner.
Statement: Depicts a flying fish apparently being pulled down by a rope lasso, but at the same time being held aloft by the same rope, to symbolise the fate of the flying fish in the face of climate change.
This sculpture would rotate with changes in the direction of the wind.
…
“Simply Red”
HARBOUR, by Chen Wenling.
Statement: The glossy figure with a blend of cheeky expression and arresting pose is a celebratory call to embrace the inner child in every viewer.
Most people would smile and giggle as they walked past this guy, especially the women. I don’t know why…
“Please don’t tell my husband”
…
This is Part 3 of 7 of my Sculpture by the Sea Bondi 2015 series.
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2015 Part 1
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2015 Part 2
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2015 Part 4
Fascinating and magical all at once. You’ve captured the unique works in your own magnifient way. It’s always a joy to see your art as a photographer.
Thank you, Sheri. The works and the environment around combine to create a wonderful photographic environment.
Awesome sculptures. I love the slippery slide one with the little girl 🙂
That was a very personal artwork for the artist. You could sense the nostalgia of the moment.
Such a potpourri of styles. “Ashes to Ashes” is my favorite so far.
You’re not alone. It was awarded the People’s Choice Award on the final day. Overall, it must have been about 3 metres high.
Fantastic sculptures and reporting by you! Thank you!
Thank you very much. It would be hard not to be impressed by the variety of sculptures on display.
The top photograph, Ashes to Ashes, is very well done even though it is a little creepy! Enjoying the journey 🙂
Thanks. Creepy to start with, but the detail was wonderful. I stood and looked at it for quite a while.
Beautiful!!!!
Thanks. 🙂
Wow, what a fantastic lot of sculpures by the sea! I think they are ALL my favourites!
Thanks. It’s a great environment and idea for an art exhibition. So much to see and enjoy.
Another great post, Lignum. I will remember to “embrace the inner child”. 😉 and I won’t tell anyone. Ha.
Have a wonderful day!
We all need to embrace the inner child now and then, don’t we? I had a laugh seeing that woman there. 🙂
Have a great day, too.
Some arresting pieces of work here – I keep going back to the Slide Vignette and the Rolling Tide. Beautiful shots Lignum!
Some sculptures are beautiful by design, whilst others are beautiful for the emotions they evoke. It was a good selection this year.
I so appreciate this series of all the sculptures by the sea. 107 main exhibiting artists from 19 countries, incredible! The first one is fascinating, the last sculpture is very unusual…
Fantastic photos, Dragon! 🙂
Thanks, Amy. It’s a great day out, even if it’s raining. 😉
The last sculpture had a strange effect on some of the women. 🙂
Beyond the black stump is my favorite. Thanks for the wonderful images.
Thank you. Ashes to ashes won the People’s Choice Award this year.
The work is all quite stunning LD. The Ashes to ashes is incredible and deserves the recognition. Love that you end with a smile. 🙂
Thanks. I didn’t get there quite in time to see what that woman was doing with her camera, but I saw enough to make me laugh. 🙂
You have a great sense of humor 😀
🙂
Another wonderful set of photos from this year’s Sculpture by the Sea. Always love the variety of shots – close ups, and non-close ups. Ashes to Ashes is fascinating – the faces look like a seamless extension of the trees. Though we are each people and have different characteristics from trees, we are in a sense nature as well (I like to think that everything in this world is made up of water and stardust). Flying Fish also caught my eye – strong message about climate change there.
Also, I was wondering about an earlier comment you left on a previous comment on mine on here. I did like this post a few hours ago – and then work called and I had to go. Each of us bloggers certainly have our own styles of blogging. Some of us might be inclined to like posts and never read them, others might do both. I’m definitely in the latter category, and generally I check my Reader in the day, note/Like the blogs that have posted that day and come back to them later at night. That is how I manage writing posts for my blog and engaging with other bloggers. All of us lead busy lives, but I am sure all of us here have good intentions when it comes to blogging and checking out other blogs. There is such a great community here, and I am glad to have connected with you over the years 🙂
Thank you. Ashes to Ashes won the People’s Choice Award, which means my vote was part of the majority. I stood at that one for quite a while. The dawn light worked well on the sculpture.
I’ve long thought it is far too easy to like and follow blogs without visiting them. What’s the point unless it’s a one photo and 5 word post? I now won’t bother looking at posts, particularly if they take 5 minutes or so to read, if I’ve identified the blogger as a writer who’s merely clicked the like button in the reader.
That is great to hear of Ashes to Ashes. It certainly has a vivid human element to it, and yet a mystical one too as you said – something we can relate to, and something that makes us wonder and ponder at the same time. Patience certainly pays when it comes to photography. And a bit of luck too, you know that 😉
To be honest, I’ve never really paid attention to who likes my blog posts. Rarely do I check out a blogger when they just like my posts and move on. A like is just a like; as you infer, bloggers might “like for a like”. If that’s how some bloggers roll, fine by me – we all blog for our own reasons, some might feel gratified by likes, some do so to acknowledge they know you have a post up, each to their own.
On the other hand, it is something special when a blogger leaves you a comment talking about what you’ve blogged about (be it on one post or ten). These are bloggers I like to support, apart from those whose works I admire (though they might not necessarily follow or support my blog).
Oh my. Your capture of the Flying Fish bathed in golden light is amazing! I had to stop and admire it. Well done. Fantastic as always 🙂
I was also fascinated by Ashes to Ashes. Well, a little creeped out to start, but definitely fascinated 😉
Thanks. The dawn light had a strong effect on the flying fish sculpture. It paid off getting up early. 🙂
I wasn’t as creeped out at Ashes to ashes as I was at the Wave.
So beautifully captured that it made me cry! Oh how I envied your angles from the first close up of ‘Ashes to Ashes’ to the the back side of ‘Harbour’. And don’t get me started on the lighting of BJF13, The whole post was magnificent. Can’t wait to see 4-7.
Thank you, Lisa. I’m always looking for a different view/angle, but lying next to ‘Harbour’ was not something I would do. Imagine if I’d been photographed? That would have gone viral. 🙂 🙂 🙂
😉
Amazing! Aren’t there some clever people out there .. The photographer is pretty darn good too 😃
Thank you very much, Julie. 🙂 It’s not hard to photograph when there is so much to see.
Such a fascinating series and exhibition.
So many wonderful sculptures and I always enjoy your take on things 🙂
Thank you, Robyn.
uno scenario surreale fa da sfondo a queste scultute-installazioni e contribuisce ad esaltarle. La prima immagine,quella dell’albero, che poi può essere considerato l’albero della vita, certo quelle che crea più immagini nella mente, senza nulla togliere a tutte le altre che il tuo sguardo attento e artistico ha saputo mettere nella giusta luce, sono rimasta incantata anche dal pesce-banderuola
grazie delle grandi emozione che mi fai provare
notte felice
Grazie. I volti nella struttura sono stati intrigante
Another great series, but the Ashes-to-Ashes sculpture is astounding…and the description “Beyond the black stump” adds to the backstory. Great shot.
Thank you very much. 🙂
Quite powerful really….
Thanks.
Enjoyed these photos so much. Thank you for taking them, sharing them. A really great day to have a camera!
This exhibition draws in the photographers, all trying to get their unique view of the sculptures. It’s very interesting.
I really enjoyed it.
🙂
Loving the pictures. I love the lead image. Thought it was volcanic rock at first. Very cool.
Thanks. Actually, according to the booklet it’s made of wood, charcoal and steel! It was fascinating.
I’m liking how you’ve presented some of these from various points of view, lighting and angles. Really very effective.
Ashes to Ashes is unsettling at best…but good art often is.
Oops…neglected to mention the wire mesh pieces. Wow. Just wow.
That won the Mayor’s Prize. 🙂
Unsettling, but fascinating – it won the People’s Choice Award. I made the decision to go in early/late this year, in part because of the rain and the changes in lighting paid off. I may have to do some night shots next time.
Again, an amazing collection of fascinating sculptures!!♥ Simply Red looks like a happy version of Gollum…I can see why he is of such interest!! 😀
The faces in the tree (is it carved from a real tree?) they are so striking. Kind of instil a tiny bit of fear, and yet they also look beautiful. I think they should feature in a future episode of Dr Who….I’d love to know how they got in there! 😉
The Rolling Tide is beautiful, such elegance. The curves makes it appear soft, and yet it clearly isn’t at all soft.
Twisting By The Pool is as you say – mesmerising! It looks to me to be all the things that bind and tie us in this world, and how we can feel caught in the same place for a very long time.
And the photographs perfectly positioned is a great idea, I’d love to be able to do that with some of my childhood photos. Would be very strange though, standing back and looking at that! 🙂
Strangely, I didn’t appreciate the Gollum connection at the time (*thumps head on the desk*). I need to be more observant. Yes, the women liked him. 🙂
According to the programme, the faces in the tree was made of wood, charcoal and steel. I didn’t touch it so I can’t tell how much steel was used.
The photographs of the girl on the slide is a very personal artwork. Yet it makes me reflect on my own childhood. That’s what makes it so good in my eyes.