We drive to Bondi to see Sculpture by the Sea, the annual festival that plonks huge artworks along the Bondi-to-Tamarama coastal path. We park by the beach ($26 for four hours) and wander past Bondi Icebergs club to the start of the walk. We buy a catalogue ($10) that tells us all about the art. Example: “By compressing or expanding different forms of actual and pictorial space a separate world can exist that is mercurial and tangible at once.”
There are big welded chunks of metal, some with price tags of $50,000. Bronze and granite can run you up to $150,000. Hmm, maybe there’s a new career for me here. Colour is important: “Aurora was painted red to identify it as a sculpture.” That’s a really good tip for budding sculptors. A lot of the sculpures are red, but what about the other ones? Are they not proper sculptures? This experience is challenging my perceptions of reality in actual and pictorial space.
I read out the descriptions to Jan but she complains when I exclaim loudly about the prices.
We see one of the artists rearranging her big inflatable tubular sculpture. I say hello and tell her I get the subtle references to a deconstructed bouncy castle, but she just gives me a hard stare.
Even on a Monday, the path is crowded with sculpture-starers, some tourists, some school groups. Many people want to have their photos taken with sculptures, some primitive urge driven by the need to interact with object in space – and to put something on Facebook.
It’s hot and humid but a wonderful experience, with the sea and cliff views as good if not better than the artworks. After a refreshing chicken burger and ginger beer, we walk back the same way and discover some other hidden gems.
I’m now off to Bunnings to get a welder and some red paint.
