After a year away, Sculpture by the Sea returns to Cottesloe next month, with almost 70 artworks ready to steal your affections.
By Ara Jansen
If Sculpture by the Sea has a superpower, perhaps it’s that each year visitors often fall in love with a piece or two – and that’s what keeps them coming back for more.
Artistic director and founding chief executive David Handley is not immune to having a hands-down favourite amongst the large-scale beachside pieces of art every year. With Sculpture by the Sea at Cottesloe turning 21this year, the event – and that choice – feels just that little bit more special.
“What motivates me each year is the sense of wonderment I see in the faces of young children as they wander through the exhibition,” says David.
“To have an idea that captures the imagination of artists around the world, who in turn create artworks that excite and inspire such a large percentage of the people of Perth and south west WA to visit each year, is a humbling privilege.”
After a one-year hiatus, the much-loved exhibition is back thanks to federal funding. This year expect a mix of local artists, from stalwarts of the WA sculpture world Ron Gomboc, Tony Davis, Jen Cochrane and Tony Jones through to early mid-career artists like Jina Lee, Jarrod Taylor, Karla Hart and Britt Mikkelsen, as well as emerging artists such as Stephanie de Biasi.
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This year’s Tourism WA Invited International Artist is Indian artist Subodh Kerkar who is creating special performance artworks with volunteers as integral parts of the artwork.
Attracting more than 250,000 local, interstate and international visitors annually, this year features 68 artworks, 70% of which have not been exhibited before.
The artists hail from seven countries, including 11 from Japan and four from Denmark who will be alongside more than 30 West Australians.
The free public event is open to all and allows visitors to walk between the works. David quips there aren’t many art galleries on a beach with a pub, restaurants and fish and chips across the road.
“Somehow the space immediately relaxes people as they wander in on the lawn among the trees and down to the sand,” he says. “To transform that space into an international sculpture exhibition is a joy and a privilege.
“It is such a special feeling each year to see the connection between people and the sculptures by artists from across Australia and around the world.”
The artistic director has two favourite times of the day to visit the exhibition. He loves the day as sunset approaches when thousands of people are wandering the beach among the sculptures.
He also loves to wander through the sculptures and into the water for an early morning swim and look back to the exhibition from the Indian Ocean.
“The Cottesloe exhibition site is so special due to the unique amphitheatre created by the sea wall and the sand curving round to Indiana’s. To be able to look down on the sculptures and to then wander among them allows you to experience the artworks from a distance and up close.
“It’s hard not to go past the sunsets of Cottesloe as the highlight, but the site is calmer than the Bondi site which many of the artists prefer, as their battle for their sculpture to be seen in contrast to the natural surrounds is not so intense.”
If turning 21 signifies the coming of age, then David loves that tens of thousands of children have been introduced to sculpture through the open-air exhibition and it has become part of their lives.
“Sculpture as an art form is no longer hidden. For my part it feels like the exhibition has been part of the cultural evolution of Australia. When I was growing up you could only get a burger and a milkshake at the beach. Now we have world class restaurants on the beach and sculptures on the beach next to sunbathers, swimmers and surfers.”
Sculpture by the Sea is at Cottesloe Beach from March 6-23.
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