Striking Sculpture by the Sea 10

It may have officially been the 11th annual Sculpture by the Sea but it was our first.

Was it worth the wait?

Whilst I have watched from afar reading articles in the newspaper and seeing stories on TV about this wonderful FREE exhibition that has been put on at the Perth seaside suburb of Cottesloe, I have avoided it until this year.  Basically because on a normal Sunday afternoon the traffic is a nightmare along this stretch of coastline and trying to find a parking space is near on impossible.

However the constant promotion has finally worn me down and we head off for a 15 minute drive south along the coast to view the exhibition during its final weekend.  As we get closer to Cottesloe I see a number of empty parking bays and beg Steve to stop, thinking we can walk the 10 minutes into the exhibition area.

He says, “No I have put it out there, we will get a bay closer in.”  To my disbelief we get a bay almost right at the entrance.  It really is just of matter of keeping your eye out for somebody leaving.

Walking onto the Cottesloe foreshore we are greeted by this Thai sculpture and then find 3 babies (large sculpture) crawling on the grass.

Very quickly we realise we need a program to understand the sculptures and what they are made from.  I head to the information booth.  There is a choice of an adult’s brochure for $10 or the Kids’ Guide for $6.  I opt for the kid’s guide as it has activities for Lewis to complete whilst still providing a brief description of the each of the 69 sculptures and what they are made from.

We make our way down to the beach, there are literally thousands of people scattered along the white sand and along the rocky groin.

All of the sculptures are interesting and each one is so different from the last.  Some the kids can play on, while others are so precious they are roped off.

The sculptures are made by artists from all over the world.  Who have made their sculptures from a variety of materials: glass, aluminium, wood, bronze, granite, polyurethane, the list goes on.  Some of the artists have used new materials, while others have made theirs from recycled products like this one using pipes and old fans to make giant algae.

Some sculptures are under water.

Others climbed the terraced banks.

Or are embedded in the white beach sand.

Several look like they were walking along the water’s edge.

A few are large and imposing.

But this one is the official winning sculpture made from stainless steel mesh.  17 pink flamingos strutting along the famous Cottesloe Beach.

Steve and I sit back and reflect that as children there was nothing like this available in Perth.  It really is wonderful that our city has grown and matured with family friendly additions to the Perth Festival of Arts and Fringe Festival.

I’m sure we will be back next year for Sculpture by the Sea.