A couple of weeks ago I trekked to Bondi Beach to check out Sculpture by the Sea, an annual event that’s been going since 1997 and I’ve wanted to visit for ages, but never managed to.

Initially lasting one day and run by volunteers, this year Sculpture by the Sea went for 18 days and boasted 103 artists from 17 countries, whose works spanned the entire 2 km coastal walk between Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach and its smaller but lovely cousin, Tamarama Beach

Although it took 2 ½ hours, two buses and two trains, and the joy of sitting next to a particularly fragrant fellow traveller, it was well worth the trip. If nothing else the weather, though blowy, was gorgeous and the beaches and craggy coastline sparkling and stunning. As for the famous Bondi Icebergs, I really must go there for lunch one day. As you can see from the photo below, that’s one hell of a view.

Bondi Icebergs looking gorgeous

Some sculptures were brilliant, others not so much, but sculpture is no different to any other creative endeavour, including books – it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Here’s a small selection of photos from the bazillion I took, starting with my two favourite sculptures. I must admit, as much as I adore Transitions (the horse), Buried Rhino was just too fun. I didn’t spot a single person who didn’t look delighted when they looked at it, and rightly so. It radiated happiness!

Buried Rhino by Gillie and Marc Schattner (he’s buried in Tamarama Beach)

Transition by Harrie Fasher

Celestial Rings by Inge King AM

Many Many III by Stephen King

Travelling Bag by Yumin Jing (that’s Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach in the background)

Wasps Nests by Hidemi Tokutake

Weave the Reef, Love the Reef by Marion Gaemers

Dave by Cathyann Coady

Dynamics in Impermanence by Nicole Larkin

Kangaroo by Richard Tipping

POP! BANG! BOOM! Little Pom Poms always turn into the mother of all POM by Lang Ea

Flower Power by Silvia Tuccimei

Metamorphosis by Tetsuro Yamasaki

New Opportunity by Ken Unsworth AM

Dearest by Margarita Sampson

Nests by Jette Mellgren

Embrace by Geoffrey Bartlett

After Party by Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy

Untitled (Coral) by Alessandra Rossi

Three Vessels – Amphora, Pug and Torpedo by Andrew Burton

Being: Now Here No Where by Mee-Sun Kim Park

Artist in residence at work, but I can’t seem to find out who she was, sorry.

Knucklebones (Venus Combination) by Christabel Wigley

Link… by Gary Deirmendjian

Chronic Series by Zheng Yuan Lu

The Tractor by Markus Hofer

In Awe by Rebecca Rose (foreground) and Wave Wall by Zhou Tengxiao

Hope you enjoyed this peek at Sculpture by the Sea. I couldn’t include all the photos otherwise I’d still be trying to do up this blog post, but from the ones here, which is your favourite?

I LOVED Buried Rhino and Transitions, while Celestial Rings, Many Many III, Travelling Bag and Flower Power were also wonderful. I found Untitled (Coral) and Chronic more than a little disturbing (which is a good thing in my book – much better than being boring), while Dave, Dynamics in Impermanence and even Nests were much, much better seen live. The photos don’t do them justice at all. As for the rest…um… perhaps not my thing but art is always in the eye of the beholder!