Bondi Beach And Sculpture By The Sea

Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach

I had planned to spend last Sunday with my friend Marion from SY Zenna.  But on Saturday, my friend Helen of SY Novae told me I must see Sculpture By The Sea and that Sunday was the last day to view it.

So I thought to myself ‘I’ll just pop on down to Bondi Beach in the morning for a few minutes, take a quick look at the sculptures, and then meet up with Marion for lunch.

Hi From Bondi
Hi From Bondi

But when I arrived, I quickly realized that one does not just ‘pop on down to Bondi Beach for a few minutes’. First, there are the surfers which I could watch forever …I see surfing lessons in my future.

Then there are all those great murals on the boardwalk. You can see my entire collection here, but the one that really stuck with me was the mural by ‘BMD’ (the Andrew J Steel 1/2) and Andrea, an 11 year old artist battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. With the support of Make-A-Wish and Google, Andrea had a solo exhibition of her artwork at the Museum of Contemporary Art and got to paint with Andrew. But really, I think Andrew thought he was the lucky one because he got to hang out with Andrea.

So after walking about 250 meters in 1 hour at Bondi, I rushed to the start of the Sculptures by the Sea which I had hoped to fully consume in my remaining 1/2 hour before heading to Marion’s for lunch.

Bondi To Tamarama Pathway For Sculptures By The Sea
Bondi To Tamarama
Pathway For Sculpture By The Sea

I picked up the brochure at the start of the walk and immediately knew there was no way that I was going to see 107 sculptures along a very crowded, narrow 1.2 km seaside walkway in a 1/2 hour.

James Rogers - Surfers Paradise
James Rogers – Surfers Paradise

Perhaps I should have checked out the Sculpture by the Sea website for details before setting out on this foolish adventure.  But I kind of like to just show up when I am touring about and I was here now and I just had to see the sculptures.

Marion was completely understanding when I called her and we agreed to postpone our lunch until Tuesday.

Peter Lundberg - Open
Peter Lundberg – Open

The going was very slow given the MASSIVE crowds.  After sailing for 6 months in remote islands where we were often one of a handful of visiting boats, it was totally overwhelming to be among so many people. But I can see why everyone wanted to be there, the sculptures framed by the beautiful coastal walkway were breathtaking

Barbara Licha - Listen, Time Passes
Barbara Licha – Listen, Time Passes

It took about 1.5 hours to see the first 22 sculptures along the coast. Then it was into Marks Park to see many more.

While in the park, I overheard that Sculpture by the Sea had been extended for 1 more day.  I confirmed this at a nearby information booth. Given that Monday would a sunny work day (unless one is still enjoying a sailbatical) I decided to head home and return the following day to view the remaining sculptures.

Tim Macfarlane Reid - Still Connected
Tim Macfarlane Reid – Still Connected

Am so glad that I did. Monday was a glorious day. I almost had the place to myself and hours to meander.

I have included a few of my favorites from the event above. You can see all of my favorites here.  But the top three for me were the ones that kept me coming back because of their statements.

The first was Minden Jó Lesz 1953 (all shall be well) by Kathleen Berney recalling a journey from Budapest to Bondi. “The work represents the artist, child of refugee boat people, on a slippery dip in this exact location in 1953, Childhood memories slide in and out of consciousness”.  I included two images taken on different days because I liked them both.

The second was The Bottles by RCM Collective portraying “human-sized ‘Spray and Wipe’ cleaning agents becoming marine life. The work animates the disconnection between the consumer waste and the natural environment.”

RCM Collective - The Bottles
RCM Collective – The Bottles

Watching young and old alike interact with this and other artworks was an added bonus for me.

Interacting with 'The Bottles' By RCM Collective
Interacting with ‘The Bottles’ By RCM Collective

The third was Intervention by Mike Van Dam which reminds us of the impact man can have on marine life, for evil or for good. In the early 1970s, due to negative human impact, “there were estimated to be only 200 humpback whales left. Now, with help from us, there are more that 20,000.”  Hopefully, we will see those numbers continue to rise.

Mike Van Dam - Intervention
Mike Van Dam – Intervention

For Jo’s Monday Walk

92 comments Bondi Beach And Sculpture By The Sea

Many thanks for this, Lisa 🙂 Even now, the soundtrack to your post is the mourners in Paris. God love them! I’m going to ‘disappear’ into my walk soon or I’ll never get there.
I’ve seen lots of images of these sculptures but they never fail to amaze, and always there’s a little interaction that takes your eye. I love the girl looking down the pipe. Sending more hugs across the waves, Lisa. Enjoy your time Down Under. 🙂

Thank you so much Jo! Again, sorry I got this to you so late. Am delighted that you made time to include it in your upcoming walk. I found much needed respite in writing ‘my walk’ yesterday but delayed publishing it until I could capture an image to accompany something that I had written the day before on the Paris tragedy. (http://lisadorenfest.com/2015/11/14/love-from-sydney/) Had to wait until sundown to go into the CBD and take the photo…and then I got lost. Anyhow, its all done now. Am so looking forward to seeing your next post. And thank you so much for your kind support in the blogosphere over the past couple of days. It is good to have friends when the unthinkable happens ????

Some really great sculptures without being preachy.

Indeed!

Sorry–maybe I should be more organized. I really like the pieces by 1/2 of BMD and Andrea. I think she will go far. I hope she goes into remission.

#metoo

I love your photographs. The art work are amazing. You definitely look as if you are having a blast, Good for you. And God Bless the baby, my heart goes out to her.

You are absolutely wonderful Eva! I am glad that I have gotten to know you here

These are amazing Lisa! I especially like the spray bottles. So fun!

I thought of you when walking through the sculptures and wished your plans had brought you here now to see it. But I am certain that much AWESOME will be here to greet you when you arrive in 2016

[…] Bondi Beach and Sculpture by the Sea […]

Excellent. I can tell I’d be just as blown away by it.

I am delighted to know! Thank you so much for your very kind compliement.

Ray Holland says:

I am so pleased you found/were here in time for Sculptures by the sea. On the other hand I am sorry we didn’t have time to talk about current/futures in SYD when we met for lunch….to much past to re-live.
Pls send me an email with your phone # so we can re-connect whilst the Captain is away.
Ciao
Ray

Ahoy Ray! Am so enjoying your beautiful city! Would love to re-connect. Have sent number via email.

Debbie says:

Great selection Lisa – love the spray bottles! :0

Thank you Debbie! I am so glad that I was able to catch this marvelous event. What a treat

Great post and wonderful pictures!

Mark & Cindy
s/v Cream Puff

Thank you Mark and Cindy! Glad you enjoyed the post! Congratulations on your arrival in Florida. Great dolphin pics. People often ask us whether we sail at night during our Pacific crossing. That question always cracks me up.

HI Lisa, have missed ‘seeing’ and cheating with you. I’m busy with a course in France and have blogged scheduled posts as time became a scarce commodity.
Thanks for sharing wonderful artwork. It’s amazing. How lucky that you could have one more day to visit.
Hope you’re well and wish you all the best.
?
Lucile

Have missed you too! I’ve been on this crazy touring whirlwind ever since The Captain went home to Italy for a visit. And then the world fell apart again and I basically retreated into myself. I hope you are getting a lot out of your course in France. I am certain it is hard to concentrate on anything there right now.

Lisa! So nice to see this post. The photo of the title girl looking down the pipe is spectacular. A very artistic photo. All the other photos are just as wonderful too. Thank you for your beautifully positive posts!

Well thank you for such lovely feedback! I am delighted that you liked the images. That little girl looking down the pipe was my favorite of the bunch too!

oopsjohn says:

I agree with this particular image being spectacular! And also the little girl at the spray bottle. Great adventure and great photos!

You are lovely to say so! Thank you.

Very cool!
Thanks for sharing!

Ahoy! Sorry for my delayed response. Oddly, your comment ended up in my spam folder. Very delighted that you liked the post.

Hmmm . . . . let’s see- Water? Check. Surfing? Check. Art? Check. Yup, I think Hubble and I would enjoy Bondi Beach a great deal. Wonderful pics-especially the surfers and the sculpture. Enjoy Lisa!

I think you would! There are so many cute puppies here, but Hubble would outshine them all! Thank you for visiting Bondi with me virtually and for your lovely compliment!

Ladybuggz says:

my fav is the hand holding the fish and the spray bottles…..

Both are great works of art with powerful statements. Glad that you enjoyed the images.

I’ve seen this on a few blogs now – what’s interesting is that each one emphasises different sculptures. I’d never seen the spray bottles before, for example. Love the wee guy in green having a go. I’d want to do that too! Great pictures of a great event.

It is very interesting to see the different takes on this very cool event. With 107 different sculptures and the interactive nature of the art, the possible interpretations of this even are endless! I’d should have had a go on the spray bottles too, but was having to much fun photographing the infant ?

Liesbet says:

Once again, you captured the event so very well. I felt like I was there with you, enjoying the art work. (And virtually being smothered by the crowds the first day – that must have been overwhelming!) And, I appreciated your favorites and their statements. I particularly felt happy and inspired by “Intervention” from Mike Van Dam. Keep the good stuff coming, Lisa!

I wish you had been there with me Liesbet! Come visit me! There are lots of AirBnBs here 🙂 I know that you can appreciate what it felt like to be submerged in a crowd after months at sea. And that Mike Van Dam piece definitely brightened my day with some much needed good news in a seeming sea of bad!

Heyjude says:

Always love to see the sculptures by the sea by way of fellow bloggers, I almost got to see it live last year, but I hate crowds and I was still a bit jet-lagged to make the effort. Nice to see the different focus on people interacting with the sculptures. Lovely baby with the spray bottles, but my favourite has to be the hand holding the whale. Thanks for sharing these 🙂

With 107 different sculptures and the interactive nature of the art, the possible interpretations by various bloggers are endless! The unique individual experience is one of the things that made the event so special. But I so hear you about crowds! It is highly likely I would have given up completing the event on the crowded Sunday even if I didn’t have an option to return Monday. Thank goodness I got to see the predominance of the even sans crowds!

Lisa, what a wonderful event to see! The sculptures themselves are fantastic but you captured their essence as if I was walking along side you! I hate crowds, too, so I’m glad to hear you had a better day the next! I’m also impressed by what looks like glorious weather. And I Iove that cute photo of you! Cheers and have a wonderful week!

What a difference a day makes. Sunday was overcast, hot and a sea of humanity. Monday was temperate with blue, blue skies and all mine! I’m glad I got to hang out with you here. I though of you when I saw the surfers (even tho I know you are more of a SUP and Windsurfer, for some reason, surfers always make me think of you). And thank you for your compliment on the photo of me 🙂 I rarely put myself in my blog because I don’t like to be photographed, but I was so excited to be at Bondi I just had to get a picture of myself there!

garym6059 says:

Holy cow, I am envious as hell! That place looks amazing and beautiful!

How I love that term ‘Holy Cow’! Makes me very homesick. The Bondi to Tamarama walk is gorgeous but with those sculptures, it was simply divine.

A sculpture walk is my idea of heaven!

Indeed! The Bondi to Tamarama walk is magical on its own, but with the sculptures, it was simply divine! So much talent.

30 minutes to see the lot was overly optimistic even if no-one else was there. 🙂 Glad you got to see/experience this. It is a very popular event. Great photos.

themofman says:

There you are. I thought you’d cross paths with Lisa!

?Thank you. Given the spectacular images that you took of the event, your compliment means a great deal to me. Am so happy to see you posting again.

Thank you very much.

Such an inspiring walk – excellent captured… 🙂

Thank you Drake! I am delighted that you think so!

Lucky you, Lisa. That exhibition is fantastic, and so many sculptures to see. Great shots all round, and it’s nice to see everyone got up close and personal with the sculptures. So much fun. I am sure the crowds did not deter you from seeing them – but Monday sounded like the more peaceful day 😉 It is amazing to see that there is a message behind each sculpture, and so I bet people were pausing trying to figure our what they meant. One day I hope to make it down to Bondi this time of the year and have a look 🙂

By the way, it was very nice of your friend to reschedule lunch 🙂

Thank you Mabel! I do hope you get to see the event one year. Just marvelous! I am glad that I had two days to drink it all in! So much talent displayed on one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world!

The sculptures change year to year. So each year, Sculpture By The Sea is certainly a unique experience. Great to hear the weather was great on both days you went!

I’m kind of hoping I’m here next year so I can see the 2016 event…

And I hope you will be here in Australia then. At some point I’m looking at heading up to Sydney for a bit. If the time is right, I’m sure we’ll bump into each other and trade stories 😀

That would be totally awesome! And I will let you know when I make it down Melbourne way as well ?

The coast path from Bondi to Bronte is one of my favourite plaes in Sydney and it must have been even more amazing with all this sculpture. Bondi has changed so much since I lived there, far too long ago! There was none of that fabulous street art but of course the surfers have always been there. I really enjoyed this, thanks! Found through Jo’s walks

Nice to meet you Phoebe! I’ve since completed the entirety of the beautiful Bondi to Coogee walk but experiencing those sculptures along the way was truly ‘icing on the cake’. Thanks for your visit.

themofman says:

Thank you for loving art. For taking time to go and see it, and going back again.

themofman says:

Lignum Draco’s images were breathtaking. It was like seeing the event for the first time. That is what was so amazing about this event…with 107 sculptures and the interaction by the crowd with the art offered endless possibilities for unique interpretation.

OMG! I so love art Allan. What I lack in talent I make up for in being a great audience ?

How lovely to be linked to the sunny art of Bondi. Thank you and Jo.

Lovely to meet you here! Jo hangs out with so many wonderful people. Glad you liked the sunshine and the very inspired sculptures on Bondi!

pkaren62 says:

What great adventures! That exhibition must have been such a joy to explore. It’s great being “self employed” – you get to go to cool things when everyone else is working 🙂

How lucky am I Karen! Sydney absolutely rocks! So much more to explore

So cool. I like that bottle!

How about it! Definitely get’s the point across in a refreshing way!

Amy says:

These sculpture displays are incredibly beautiful, Lisa! Love the surfing shots, so much fun! 🙂

I feel lucky to have been here when Sculptures By The Sea was on. And I’ve loved seeing it again through Lignum Draco’s eyes. So much fun. Delighted that you liked the surfing shots.

Hi Lisa. These are marvellous shots, I’ve never been to one of these but it looks amazing. Love your shots, especially the Surfers Paradise and the one of the ring with people inside it. And how cool are those bottles?! I just noticed that I’m somehow not following you anymore, I thought you’d just been quiet! Fixing that now ?

Ahoy Desley! Oddly this comment ended up in my spam folder and I just noticed it now when I went through the folder. Bizarre! Thank you for your very generous compliments. I hope that you make it down Sydney way one year for the Sculptures By The Sea. So much amazing art on the most beautiful backdrop EVER.

Like others, I have enjoyed seeing different bloggers’ take on this wonderful event. I am glad you decided to go.

It was such a treat Ann. Thanks for joining me for it virtually ?

badfish says:

Now this is weird. I can’t answer your comments (last two) from my site, under the orange thingy. I get a red tag that says…failed to post or something. I come here, I don’t see my response, nor yours, the one I see in my blog. Odd? Spooky?

That is very odd! I never got a comment from you on this post although I did get a comment from you here http://lisadorenfest.com/2015/11/15/sculpture-by-the-sea/

I will never fully understand the mysterious challenge faced when interacting between self-hosted and WP blogs

badfish says:

yeah, weird…it wouldn’t let me reply

I haven’t visited you in a while and this was such an entertaining post to come back to. Thanks for taking us around, especially loved the spray bottle showers. What an ingenious design!!!

Lovely to see you here again! I am delighted that you liked the post. So much great art in such an amazing setting. Feel lucky to have witnessed it.

kirsten says:

Wow! Wow! Wow! And did I say, “Wow!” Absolutely incredible sculptures, Lisa. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. I’m blown away by the creativity that went into their work. The spray bottles that actually sprayed water were too cool. I bet the kids loved that one. I’m glad you had two days to peruse them.

?Kirsten! It was such an unexpected delight. What a great kickoff for my first visit to Bondi! Am loving this place ?

kirsten says:

I keep trying to respond to this and it won’t let me 🙁 I think I would have had to take days to wander through all the sculptures. What a fantastic kickoff for your first visit. How long are you there?

How ’bout it. Certainly a wonderful way to be welcomed to Sydney. Current plan is to be here until June but might be longer depending on the type of Program Management role that I find. So I might just be here when you get here ….

I am so sorry about the challenges responding but glad that your comment finally came through. Thanks for your persistence

Amazing photos, Lisa! Sculptures by the Sea looks like an absolutely amazing experience….the little girl looking through the sculpture in black and white is my favorite. Simply stunning shot!

Thank you Britta! It was such a treat to experience this event. I am having so much fun in Australia with my camera. Am also looking for work so its not all play all the time, but it is much of the time. The Captain is in Italy through 16 December so I am enjoying some much needed me time. It is difficult as you can imagine to find ‘space’ when living on a sailing boat. For now I have the boat to myself and a whole city to explore. Still, am looking forward to showing the Captain all I have seen in this marvelous place when he returns.

Still enjoying this post! Thanks for sharing the beauty!

Thank you for coming here to enjoy it again!

dunelight says:

First..you will love surfing.

What a cool event. I easily get caught up in public art events. LIsten, Time Passes was kinda scary. The public interaction of the spray bottles was pretty cool. I’d like to see Still Connected in my own yard. 🙂

Ahoy Kim! Thank you joining me virtually in Bondi and at Sculptures By The Sea. Do you surf? How long did it take you to learn? Was it as difficult as it sounds?

I love those sculptures! Very, very cool stuff!

Thanks Richard! So much talent featured along one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world.

What an amazing walk. Lisa! I’m surprised you could tear yourself away from those surfers, but the sculptures are so amazing. Thanks for showing me. 🙂

Thanks for coming along for the walk virtually. I am delighted you like the sculptures!

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