NEWS
Sculpture outshines coastal exhibition
Art alumnus Alison McDonald has won the $10,000 2015 Strand Ephemera Outdoor Sculpture exhibition.
The event, held on Townsville’s shoreline during July and August this year, completely transformed the beach into a 2.2km exhibition space for amazing artworks, events, workshops and performances.
McDonald’s winning work Shimmer was made of approximately 14,000 recycled power pole inspector ID disks, wrapped around the Surf Life Saver's Tower.
Moving with the wind, the disks reveal the iconic Surf Life Saving colours of red and yellow on the underside of the disks, creating a gentle tinkling sound resembling rain from inside the building, and playing like a percussion instrument on the outside.
McDonald, an RMIT Master of Arts (Art in Public Space) graduate, explained the link between the sculpture and the coast.
“Glistening, sparkling, twinkling and gleaming, the water is deceptively inviting; Shimmer alludes to this whilst reflecting on the vigilance of our surf lifesaving community,” she said.
John Walsh, Gallery Manager at the Gold Coast City Gallery and judge of the exhibition, described McDonald’s winning sculpture as “a simple concept realised with poetic elegance.”
“Shimmer is an intervention on the site that adds a level of engagement and interaction that is constantly changing according to its surroundings” he said.
“Wind, light and the colours of the landscape all play a part to produce a sculpture that resonates; its subtle song is one that suits its ultimate beauty."