Sculpture by the Sea 2016 - Exhibition Review

Travelling Bag - Yumin Jing

Sydney's annual sculpture exhibition, Sculpture by the Sea has made is Spring appearance inviting the public to appreciate the dimensional aspects and conveyance of meaning through this art form.

Adaptation - Nihariki Hukku

2016 is its 20th year and perhaps fittingly this year was the first time which the natural elements posed a risk to the exhibition. Unexpected King tides swept onto Tamarama beach and inundated those works located on the beach damaging three and dislodging others from their location. The result was three sculptures were so badly damaged that they had to be withdrawn with  only images on signage remaining where they had once stood. These were not the only ones however which were damaged and other works located on rock platforms close to the seaside also had to be removed.

27 countries are represented this year with entries from India, Germany, Sweden, China, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Brazil, Japan, England, the USA, South Korea, Netherlands, Slovakia, Serbia to name a few. Australia was well represented with roughly half of the entries sourced from this country.  Notably two entries were from sculptors who have passed away. The exhibition is comfortable, predictable and the forms well-executed, however it was safe territory all up. As a free exhibition it is always worth the trip to walk along the coastal path between Tamarama and Bondi Beach.