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Canberra Today 12°/16° | Saturday, March 30, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Arts / ‘Reed’ sculpture wins inaugural prize

A STRIKING “found steel” sculpture resembling river reeds has won the inaugural Clearwater Sculpture Prize of $3000, announced by Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall during the opening of the Queanbeyan River Festival.

 

Christopher Harman's winning sculpture, photo Gary Schafer
Christopher Harman’s winning sculpture, photo Gary Schafer
“Reeds Specimen (in memory of Frank Schmidt)” by Christopher Harman was considered by the judging panel, which included sculptor Philip Spelman, sponsor SEROC rep Geoff Prior and Queanbeyan City Councillor Judith Burfoot, to be a well resolved work that sat perfectly in the riverside location.

Judges Philip Spelman and Councillor Judith Burfoot with the canoe
Judges Philip Spelman and Councillor Judith Burfoot with Clare Martin’s canoe
25 artists entered works created in response to the river and surrounds.

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These included unusual sculptures made of recycled materials, from which the judges chose Barak Zelig’s work “Flow,” made of recycled tyres, plastic and steel, as winner of the $1000 “Re-Use” Award sponsored by  South East Regional Organisation of Councils.

“Bulbous Metaliferous”
“Bulbous Metaliferous”
Another prominent work made from “found” objects was “Bulbous Metaliferous” by Corri Hakaraia and Nigel Dobson, made of light fittings and star pickets.

Among the more mischievous entries were wine flagons recycled into ducks by glass artists Mel George, Annette Blair and Kirstie Rea and a rusted barbed wire canoe by artist Clare Martin, who told “CityNews” that one passer-by had asked her if it would float.

Neil Dickinson's moth
Neil Dickinson’s moth
Visible from a distance were sculptures of a moth, a cockatoo, a platypus and a fish by Neil Dickinson, whose laser-cut art works can be seen all around Queanbeyan’s CBD.

Bill Fleming’s’ mysterious sculpture of a blue whale resting in a Buddhist lotus was accompanied by a narrative aimed at young people and other works, notably Sonja Kalenjuk’s “RE: Coffee Table,” seemed well-targeted toward smaller sculpture-lovers.

"Binding Tree' by Mike Macgregor
“Binding Tree’ by Mike Macgregor
The 25 entries in the 2014 Clearwater Sculpture Prize can be seen on the riverbank near the Queanbeyan Bridge until Sunday. Works maybe purchase by inquiring at the marquee under the bridge. 

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Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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