Wanting to see where my council rates end up I always get along to check out the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize. This exhibition just opened today (yay, a timely post) so get down and check it out yourself - it is open until 11 November.
So what is small anyway? Well Woollahra says that "entries should not exceed 80cm in any dimension". I will bring my tape measure next year. I was hoping to see some familiar names but there were a few more unknowns (to me at least) this year. I did recognise Maria Fernando Cardoso, Rodney Pople and Sherrie Knipe but everyone else will be a google affair. There was a healthy mix of found object assemblages (something I always fancy myself having a crack at) to more refined production techniques in ceramics, glass and metal. The winner was Thor Beowulf (really, that is his name) whose work "the carbon credit machine" was a bit of a steampunkesque piece that even incorporated a real bonsai plant. Upon googling Mr Beowulf he is the proprietor of the bonsai shop on Queen Street! Nice work, I have been there and good to see the money going to a local ratepaying business. Fresh from seeing a pile of peanuts at the MCA more nuts were on show here, Julian di Martino's "do try the walnuts" (pictured top) will be hard to forget. There is a people's choice award so without further ado let's reveal the winner of the Big Lamington prize ...
Points: 3 points for the nuts. This really grew on me, and I am going to give it my peoples choice vote, you can vote online here. 2 points to Janet Parker-Smith for 'we are all earthly creatures' (pictured middle). 1 point for the Jeff Koons ripoff pony by Petra Svoboda ('Show pony', pictured above). Also highly commended were the milkshakes, burgers and bacon & egg rolls at the Redleaf cafe!