It was the art exhibition that stopped traffic.
After a lousy, grey, cold day on Saturday, Sydney turned on the kind of day it likes to think it’s known for on Sunday – you know, sunshine and cloudless blue skies - which also happened to be the last day of Sculptures by the Sea, an annual outdoor exhibition of sculptures that dot the pathway on the famous Bondi to Bronte walk.
So many people had the same idea that roads were backed up from Bondi Beach to Sydney Harbour Bridge. That’s a distance of about 10 kilometres. More than half a million people visited the cliffside art installation over 18 days which has become part of the Sydney cultural festival since it was introduced in 1997 as part of the lead-up to the Sydney Olympics.
"This is far and away one of the greatest exhibitions we have," NSW Arts Minister, George Souris, declared yesterday evening.
The other interesting aspect as we wound our way slowly – very, very slowly – along the walk was the languages spoken by individuals and tour groups. Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Swedish, Greek, German, Croatian, Spanish, Arabic were just those that we could identify.
The ‘People’s Choice’ award was won by NSW collective Cave Urban for their exhibition entitled mengenang (memory), an installation of 222 bamboo instruments built to remember the lives lost in the 2002 Bali bombings.
Cave Urban member Lachy Brown said the sculpture was designed to appeal to children and passersby as much as mourners.
"People have come up to us and told us they've had family and friends taken," he said.
"The majority of people who've come through the installation probably weren't aware of the basis of it, but that's fine too.
GhostNets Australia won the Kids' Choice Prize of $3000 for their work Ghost Net Crocodile. He was a happy, waving crocodile in gorgeous green and blue hues.
One of the favourites of my small group of visitors was a bright red chilli for its shape, form, texture and contrast of colour against the sandstone and sparkling blue ocean.
If you haven’t been before, get along next year. The evolution of Sculptures by the Sea from its low-budget beginning in 1997 with 25,000 visitors to what it is today is remarkable and, of course, the South Pacific Ocean as a backdrop for the entire exhibition make it truly spectacular.
Founding director David Handley said he felt privileged to have watched the festival grow since 1997, exhibiting some of the newest sculptors in the country alongside some of the most renowned in the world.
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