Now here is a message that I am desparately in need of at the moment. The statement for this mild steel and bronze work is the human capacity to strive on regardless of the challenge. The shape immediately struck me as a graph of my mental state which really appealed. For some reason it made me feel quite uplifted.
I am aware that I tend to do what’s comfortable regarding image style and treatment. So here’s something a bit different. This is Robin Yakinthou’s Just Another Conversation, a fantastic work in stainless steel. This was shot before sunrise so the light was wonderfully blue. Combine the light with the blue ocean, blue sky, blue jumper and blue backpack. Nice, soft effect. I included the person not only for the blue touches but I felt the scale of the piece was quite important.
Toshio Iezumi’s work of light was very popular and I was constantly drawn to shooting it. It was incredibly smooth and had these awesome refractive properties. Lots of people just stood looking at it from various angles.
This sculpture was very delicate being made of string and unfortunately started to disintergrate under the relentless poking of children (and some adults). I thought it was lots of fun and achieved its statement of using patterns inspired by the natural to physically engage.
The engineer in me just loved the kinetic (moving) sculptures particularly this stainless steel piece which didn’t look like much when stationary. It explores the wind, which can’t be seen directly but certainly has an effect on it’s surrounding.
Here’s an interesting use of stainless steel at the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. This piece by Zero Higashida is a comment on the role microbes play in the environment. Because of it’s location I couldn’t shoot the full piece without people and other distractions in the background.
But I love the way the ocean and grass are reflected in the steel itself linking the environment with the piece itself. And it’s such a curvy shape and varied texture.
This piece from Sculpture by the Sea is by Ysabelle Fordin and was a very kinetic and interactive piece. She says it’s a dialogue between nature, the world of humans and things (suspension through movement). I found it quite fascinating (along with every child under 6!) and spent lots of time shooting it. Infact I took over 500 images and then selected 2 for further work.
Both images used a technique I’d never tried before and I’m not sure of the technical term. I focused on the centre of the image and then zoomed in while the shutter was open. It took a long time to get the intended effect, made more challenging by the fact the actual piece was swinging wildly in the breeze.
From a technical point of view I prefer the top image – the shadow and light is more interesting and there is a small part of the piece that’s actually in focus. However I think the bottom image actually tells the sculptur’s story better – you can just make out some people beneath the piece which alludes to the human/nature interaction. There’s more of a falling sense towards the piece when it is front on to the camera as well and gives a slightly better idea of the shape of the piece. It would be interesting to hear the artist’s thoughts!
Purely Pilbara has been a proud supporter of the Kicking and Shooting Goals program for the past year. This is a fantastic program aimed at school aged children for development of sports and life skills. It is now run by the Swan Districts Football Club and the ever passionate Dan’s efforts were recognised late last year. Read more here.
We’ve donated items for fundraising and will continue this year including a canvas print and calendar for the Countryweek raffle coming up soon. Keep up the great work!
This Sculpture by the Sea piece is from the artist Anne Walmsley. It mixes the two traditional Australian themes of beach and pastoral (so that the rolled beach towels look like hay bales). Despite having a very mining background I was strongly drawn to the piece and couldn’t quite work out why. Until I realised that the Albany Woolen Mills tag was an integral part of my childhood.
Mum and Dad bought a red version of the orange blanket shown below when I was born and I’ve had it with me ever since (and still do!). This image was shot as the sun was rising to give it that nice golden light shafting through.
Sculpture by the Sea is an outdoor exhibition held in several venues annually. I was lucky enough to spend some time enjoying the pieces from around the world at the Cottesloe exhibition at the start of March. I shot at sunrise, sunset and during the night. This was one of the few images that worked from the sunset shot. Yes, I know it’s a crowd pleaser but I still do like it.
