Cheeky Monkey

Autumn Moon in the Sky – Chen Wenling

This is one of my favourite offerings in this year’s Sculpture by the Sea. I’m not entirely sure if this character is a monkey or not, but he certainly is cheeky! And I lived in England long enough for the phrase “cheeky monkey” to be familiar.

Autumn Moon in the Sky – Chen Wenling

The sculpture looks (to me) to be telling a tale about the autumn moon, and since the sculptor’s name is Chinese I assumed it was a Chinese tale. But I couldn’t find anything online that fit. If you know the tale behind the action in this sculpture, please let me know.

Autumn Moon in the Sky – Chen Wenling

Autumn Moon in the Sky – Chen Wenling

Autumn Moon in the Sky – Chen Wenling

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The Indivisible Curves

Sculpture by the Sea is on again in Sydney. Apparently, it’s the world’s largest free sculpture exhibition, and it runs along the coast from Bondi Beach (where I live) to Tamarama Beach. Two friends and I braved the inevitable hordes of people today to check out this year’s offerings. It was a beautiful early summer day, with a cloudless sky and a temperature around 26C (79F), and ocean breezes to take the edge off the sun.

Remembering that this week’s theme is curves or rounded, I was on the lookout for a sculpture with no straight lines.

Finally, towards the end of our walk, we came across this one. A sensous swirl of curves twining around itself, with no beginning and no end.

And if you’re wondering why I titled this post “The Indivisible Curves”, it’s because the piece is called “Indivisible.”

When I get my other photos sorted, I’ll post about some of this year’s other sculptures. You can see my other related posts from previous years here.

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Random Fridays: Photography is easy

I saw this sign at Sculpture by the Sea, and wasn’t sure if it was an exhibit or a statement!

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Bench Series: Message (1)

Look very closely – can you see the message?

November’s bench theme is messages. I took this photo as part of my Sculpture by the Sea collection (see the post here), and only when I looked at it on the larger screen of my laptop did I realise there is a small message plaque on the side. I’ve cropped the part of the photo and you can see the plaque in the feature image, but it’s a small part of a large photo so not very clear! This is what it says:

Marks Park – Sydney
Our little bench …
This place where Francisco proposed to Francisca on the 1st of October of 2009
Three years after Madelena was born in the same day (1st of October of 2012)
Love you …

Isn’t that lovely?

And if you’re curious, the sculpture behind the bench is “space time continuum v4” by Clayton Thompson.

To see what messages other bloggers have found on benches around the world, check out the Bench Series tag in your Reader.

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Sculpture by the Sea 2015

dust – Norton Flavel

The annual outdoor display of sculptures is on again in Sydney. With artworks dotted for 2km along the coast from Tamarama Beach to Bondi Beach, this free two-week event is hugely popular.

There are over 100 artworks on display — but don’t worry, I didn’t photograph every one. 😉

A few sculptures that caught my eye

ashes to ashes – Kim Perrier

bath – Vince Vozzo

bjf13 – Ben Fasham

city dreams – Gao Xiaowu

fun! – Naidee Changmoh

intervention – Mike Van Dam

kakashi – Zilvinas Zempinas

man on ball – Wang Shugang

man on ball – Wang Shugang (Sculpture by the Sea)

listen time passes – Barbara Licha

tree spirit eggs – Mark Eliott

undulation – Benjamin Storch

quotidianity the brothers – Fabio Pietrantonio

These “sculptures” were created by Mother Nature — eroded sandstone.

Nature’s sculpture

Nature’s sculpture

A few other things that caught my eye

I deliberately took a day off work so I could avoid the crazy crowds on a weekend, but look at all the people on the path! I’ve put this post in my Strolls around Sydney category because, believe me, a strolling pace is as fast as it’s possible to move.

Hordes of art lovers (or in this case, hordes of completely uninterested teenage students)

Please keep to the left.

It’s important to stay hydrated and safe in the Sydney sun (when the sun actually shines, that is — it’s been very wet here for the past few days!). There was free water …

Grab a glass of water

Top up your bottle here

… and free sunscreen.

Free sunscreen station.

This woman is taking advantage of the free sunscreen.

And someone has to keep the artworks looking clean!

Keeping it clean.

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B&W 5 Day Challenge: Day 1 – Spiders in Sneakers

Spiders in Sneakers: Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2014

I’ve opted for some whimsy for my first entry in the Black and White 5 Day Challenge. These little guys look like they’ve escaped from a 1950s’ B movie, perhaps called Attack of the Spiders in Sneakers!! To see a zoom of a spider’s face, click here.

Jude of Travel Words (and other sites, all well worth a visit) has honoured me by inviting me to join in with this challenge.

There are only two rules for this challenge:

1. On five consecutive days, create a post using either a past or recent photo in B&W.
2. Each day invite another blog friend to join in the fun. This is where it gets tricky for me, as I don’t feel that I know five other bloggers well enough to invite them. So I’m going to twist Rule 2 and make it an open invitation — if you would like to join in, please do!

(Six legs, antennae — okay, these are probably ants, not spiders. But “Ants in Sneakers” isn’t a very catchy title.)

Sculpture by the Sea 2013

Sydney’s annual free sculpture display runs along the coast from Bondi Beach to Tamarama Beach. The exhibits range from wacky to wonderful, from weird to whimsical. But there’s always something to make me pull out my camera! (And I go every year, which I guess makes it a habit.)

Is it a light bulb? Bubble gum? It certainly is red! (Qian Sihua, bubble no:5)

But how does he get down again? (Ken Unsworth , there`s many a slip 2013) (click for close-up)

If only they also made noise, like a giant wind chime … (Rebecca Rose, look at me)

A self-contained water world. (Lucy Humphrey, horizon)

This water-filled sphere is amazing.
You can view a slideshow of my other photos of it, much larger, here.

Sleepy? (Eko Bambang Wisnu & Ida Lawrence, goodnight uncle john)

Hidden interior. (Michael Snape, breach)

I kept expecting little aliens to emerge. “Take me to your leader!” (Byung-Chul Ahn, life reflection xx #1)

Guess which boy is the art lover? (David Hashimoto, moment of clarity (background); Carl Billingsley, red center (foreground))

The reminds me of the Siq (the entrance to Petra). (Yunghsu Hsu, 2012-11)

Like a crescent moon fallen to earth. (Matthew Harding, the cheshire`s grin (with bubble no:5 in background))