“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.
…
“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.
…
“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.
…
“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.
…
“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.
…
“Bridge to troubled waters”
THE CROSSING, by Michael Snape.
Statement: None provided.
…
“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.
…
“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.
…
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.
…
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.
I knew that I had a reason to not like those 👽 aliens 😉
Exactly. 😉
Interesting to see the theme of migration this year round. Very current too. That is sad to hear a big wave hit for the first time, and I’m guessing by the caption of the last photo, you were there on the day it hit…
Art and other forms of expression often reflect the current affairs of the day, so I’m not surprised an artwork about detention centres was created.
Yes, the King Tide was unfortunate and it was amazing to watch the entire beach go underwater. I was there that afternoon and witnessed some of the damage being done.
Nature! Absolutely love the rhinos x
Nature always wins.
The rhino was funny to see. 🙂
What is a King Tide? Glad I am in the midwest right now! Thanks for the post and amazing images.
Basically, a much larger high tide than usual. In this case, the waves at high tide were up to 3 metres high (approx 10 feet).
The sea has its allure and beauty, but it is also fraught with danger.
Thanks for the info. That’s why I love and respect the sea… the beauty and fraught with danger thing.
Yeah right. You’re a dreamer. 🙂
That rhino enjoying his beach day is precious!
I thought so, too. Great concept. I’ll keep an eye out for any giant turtles. 😉
YES!!!!!!!
🙂 🙂 🙂
I liked the oars and what they signify – and the fact that the sculpture casts such interesting shadows.
I agree. It’s interesting where artists get their inspiration from. The shadow interplay was a feature of this sculpture.
Is it consoling perhaps to view the king tide as performance art?
That’s one interpretation, and not a far fetched one either – “Sculpture in the Sea”.
The last one is a cool capture, 10 feet high tide, and you were there!
All the sculptures were affected, that is so sad… Great photos, Dragon!
Well, I was prepared to run (or fly) if I thought I needed to. 😉
Thanks, Amy.
I figured you’d fly! 👌
LOL 🙂
I can’t say that the Weighted Embrace was a huge loss, but glad to see the rhino hung on to its patch on the sand. I guess your king tides are the equivalent of our spring tides which is when the tides are the highest. But surely these are easily predicted?
This is the first king tide in Sydney that I can recall, that was not associated with a storm but I’m sure they do happen. This one was newsworthy because it affected Sculpture by the Sea. I know they are much more common at the Top End of Australia.
I know that some of the sculptures were moved back in preparation but I don’t think anyone expected the entire beach to become submerged. The detention centre sculpture was actually on the concrete promenade, not the beach when it was destroyed by a freak wave.
What unfortunate timing! Great documentation of it all, LD. The sculptures are wonderful this year.
Nature is the pro and the con of the outdoor exhibition. Unfortunate, but more good weather than bad. 🙂
ancora più interessanti delle installazioni sono le motivazioni che muovono gli artisti, la grande difficoltà della nostra epoca moderna è la comprensione, e l’egoismo che divide i popoli dimenticando ciò che in realtà noi siamo
nulla
e la natura sta lì a ricordarlo
sempre molto apprezzate le tue scelte e il tuo lavoro
un grande saluto
Annalisa
Ispirazione e creatività si trova spesso nei minimi dettagli.
Grazie mille per i commenti tipo. Buon fine settimana
Love the rhino scultpure. You are such a diligent documentarian to venture out during that destructuve tide. 🙂
Thanks. It was go out and see the destruction or stay at home and twiddle my thumbs. 🙂
Great post! Thanks.
You’re welcome.
Sad to see so much hard work and preparation undone by nature. Was this extreme tide due to a low pressure system or in some way connected to the moon?
As I recall, it was a warm clear day, so I suppose it must have been related to the moon. The only other times I have seen this has been during gale force winds and storms.
It would certainly have been disappointing for the artists to see their works damaged, particularly as most of the works are for sale as well.
I love “Oarsome!!”
It is so unfortunate that the wave hit when it did.
Thank you for sharing here, Lignum.
Thank you, Lisa. Unfortunate indeed, but that’s the risk of a beach side outdoors exhibition. It’s been close to perfect weather every other day. Have a wonderful weekend.
Ocean as art critic. Perhaps next year’s installation should be above the flood plain?
Never underestimate the power of Nature. Sculpture in the Suburbs somehow doesn’t sound so appealing.
Awesome! I love the Buried Rhino!
Thanks.
Love it ! Very nice
Thank you.
Hey Mr Draco .. Love the rhino and those oars are clever too! Thanks for the beach walk
Thanks for the visit, Julie. The rhino had its fair share of admirers with cameras. 🙂
Oh dear sorry to hear of the damage .. What a shame
That’s Sydney Spring weather for you. High winds and rain are more common than this. Hopefully it won’t happen again for a while.
Loving the Buried Rhino sculpture. It looks cute to me, but also raises awareness of the danger they are in, perhaps enhanced with the king tide coming in. It is a shame the artworks were damaged or lost completely.
I see the irony of the rhino in distress from the waves. Nice one, Sandy. 🙂
A huge shame for the artists that lost their works. More so because the one about offshore detention is so topical right now.
It is a shame that artworks were damaged or destroyed. As you said, particularly the one about offshore detention. It’s such a powerful statement. Gosh, imagine if it got taken out to sea and ended up on one of “the islands”…
That would indeed be the ultimate irony.
Interestingly, Tamarama is in the federal electorate of Wentworth and the current member is the Prime minister. I suspect he’s not upset about that sculpture being destroyed.
That is very interesting. I don’t think he’d be too upset either…
😉
These are all extremely striking, and got me thinking on many levels! The Paradise Lost is… mm… kind of really feel that! I think we may be all in something like that to one extent or another – looking out at something better than where we are. And at first the Buried Rhino made me laugh, but then I realised it has a different purpose.. oh, yes, made me see it very differently! I never use to be interested in art sculpture as I found most didn’t really speak to me, but the sculptures you have where you live certainly seem to convey a very powerful message. And you always capture them so well! 😊
Thank you. I’m noticing that art can be interpreted in many ways. We all have our own biases and opinions, and then that can change if we know the artist’s inspiration/intent. I guess that adds to our enjoyment and appreciation of the work. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year to you too… I hope it has some good things in store!! 🙂
Thank you, Suzy.