COLOURFULWORLD

Tuesday 20 March 2012

2012 Sculpture by the Sea

This year marked the 8th "Sculptures by the sea" exhibition in Cottesloe beach, which opened on 1st March and closed today 19th March.

I love going to see the artworks set out in a relaxed outdoor environment, with people sunbathing next to them, families wandering around the sand from piece to piece, explaining the artworks to the kids, school excursions... and of course I enjoy seeing the different types of materials used for the sculptures, from bronze to wool, and recycled materials, the variety is fascinating.
Caliban - this scary 2mt high aluminium statue overlooks the beach

This particular free event was expected to attract over 200,000 visitors to visit its 70 artworks made by local, interstate and international artists. I wonder if more people visit this type of exhibition being outdoors than if it was held in a museum?

This year´s winner was Western Australia´s artist Paul Caporn, who won a $15,000 Sculptor scholarship award, that helps local artists further their careers, with his "yellow dump truck" made from rubber mats used in children´s playgrounds.
The winning entry - Yellow Dump Truck - by Paul Caporn                                                                                                                                                                                    
His truck with the accompanying statement "overloading a system eventually leads to its failure" is a metaphor on the thriving WA mining industry. "It´s a plaything for the kids, but they carry the burden of the future" - said Caporn in an interview.
It was certainly the children´s favourite judging by the amount of kids who wanted to climb on it, when I was there.

This year a most unusual thing happened, a few days ago, for the first time in the events history, a statue was vandalized and stolen, but luckily a few days later the young culprit was found. (This must have been a prank and he might have had help, as the bronze statue is heavy, and he wouldn´t be able to carry it on his own, but Police are investigating). "Childhood Morning", by Chen Wenling, who last year won the People´s choice award with another huge Red statue, was the targeted statue. The theft has exposed the risk of not insuring the artworks with an estimated value of $2,5million.

Childhood Morning - by Chen Wenling
Vehicle - by Jean-Marc Rivalland
Ship of Fools - by Deborah Halpern,
One of my favourites covered with mosaics

Convention

Just another conversation  - Robin Yakinthou

Thought Process

Oh my God - by Lucy Vader

Another one of my favourites, a granite piece "Oushi-zokei"  by Keizo Ushio


Convolution
Cottesloe beach with Indiana Tea House

Most pieces are for sale with prices ranging from $1300 to $145,000!!
Some artists will now have their work exhibited in "Bondi´s 2012 Sculpture by the sea" in Sydney, to be held from 18th October to 4th Nov this year, and then they will head to Denmark in June 2013.
Looking forward to visiting it again next year as it´s a lovely day out on the beach.
Hope you enjoyed this visit too. 
Which was your favourite piece of art?


10 comments:

  1. Aren't they interesting? Won't be buying one any time soon though!

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  2. Very expensive aren´t they?

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  3. The winner was weell deserved not for the artwork but purely for the metaphor "overloading a system eventually leads to its failure" which went with it :)
    I ahve to confess I am not keen on modern art, I am more of a traditionalist!

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  4. Wow, I love the ship of fools. The beach in Cottesloe is gorgeous too isn't it. I used to spend my weekends in a house two streets away...it's lovely

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  5. Hi Sharon,I agree, Cottesloe is a lovely beach. Ship of fools was also my favourite.

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  6. Artists are amazing in how they express their ideas to the world. The faucet one is my favorite. There's something about it that's just so surreal and mesmerizing.
    Great post and photos. :)

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  7. I liked all the sculptures. In the right place/context, they'll be very interesting for passerby.

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  8. Hallo Sami,
    Thank you so much for stopping by my space. it meant a lot to me to know that you too felt the same way as me during your stay in Germany. Coming from India, am used to the warmth and sunshine throughout the year. The weather puts me down terribly and even more so the attitude of the locals that we have got to live with it. Expat life is hard, but then we have to make the best of it as it will soon pass. Just like you, the best part about all this is being able to travel around widely and explore other countries and cultures. Thank you for lifting my spirits with your kind words.
    Love,
    May.

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  9. Thanks for stopping by EC, Lovely Light and May.
    I like the tap too, it would be a lovely sculpture for a garden.
    Hi May, hope that you will visit again and I will visit you once in a while too of course to find out what´s happening in your part of the world - Germany - where I once lived as well!

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