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Western Australian artist Johannes Pannekoek’s prizewinning sculpture Change Ahead, seen in situ at Sculpture by the Sea
Credit: Clyde Yee

Sculpture by the Sea, the world’s largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition, officially opens to the public today on the coastal walk between Bondi and Tamarama.

The occasion is an especially auspicious one, marking not only the Sydney institution’s 20th anniversary but also the installation of the 2000th sculpture exhibited along the iconic coastal walk. This year’s exhibition, which at first faced a number of significant obstacles including a nature ravaged coastal walk, was salvaged with the support of an eleventh hour principle sponsor in Aqualand, and features works by 104 Australian and international artists originating from 17 countries – 35 of which are showing for the first time.

Pieces sure to make their presence keenly felt in your Instagram feed include Travelling Bag, a stainless steel handbag filled with native flowers created by Chinese artist Yumin Jing; Detritus Parasitus, an ominous section of coastline wrapped in netting and hyper-coloured flotsam reminiscent of Wrapped Coast created by Blue Mountains artist Ian Smith; and striking pieces by the late, revered Australian sculptor Inge King, who passed away earlier this year at 100 years of age.

Two of King’s works appear in this year’s exhibition, Celestial Rings and Link III, two dynamic works created from brushed stainless steel, with both recalling celestial bodies – their inclusion being labelled a fitting tribute to an artist described by event founder David Handley as “one of Australia’s greatest sculptors.”

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At left, Inge King, Celestial rings I, 2014 and Yumin Jing, Travelling Bag seen in situ at Sculpture by the Sea 2016
Credit: Clyde Yee

But it was Western Australian artist Johannes Pannekoek who most impressed this year’s judging panel, with his piece Change Ahead chosen to be the recipient of the $60,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award, an award billed as the most generous annual sculpture prize in the Southern Hemisphere (“Or at least in Bondi,” joked Handley).

Change Ahead, a one tonne corten steel sculpture, was inspired by life’s non-linear nature and was personally couriered by the artist from his home in Gooseberry Hill on a four day journey across the country ahead of its installation at Tamarama Beach.

The Perth-based artist told GRAZIA that Change Ahead was inspired by “not being afraid of change and using it to develop the next part of your life.” Pannekoek, who previously worked in engineering for 25 years before devoting himself to his artistic ambitions full time and has exhibited at Bondi once before, said that he was “also inspired by nature – it’s a non-linear form. I tried to keep away from straight [lines] – there’s too much straight in life!”

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Perth-based artist Johannes Pannekoek seen alongside his award-winning sculpture, Change Ahead, and at right, Jennifer Turpin and Michaelie Crawford’s Art-Work-Site: Operation Crayweed, one of four recipients of a Helen Lempriere Scholarship
Credit: Left, shot on an iPhone, and at right, courtesy of Clyde Yee for Sculpture by the Sea

Despite its organic genesis, Pannekoek divulged that its construction out of his home studio (a fairly solitary practice) was “totally planned. Once you have a piece that you’re happy with in maquette form then you can check the integrity of it, and reverse engineer it from there. Once I had my draft maquette I had it 3D scanned using a customised program to [obtain] the finer details of it [because] once you multiply it twelve times it accentuates every detail.”

As for the journey, Pannekoek wasn’t alone in that marathon effort. With the assistance of a French friend who had flown home the day prior, he drove the work across the Nullarbor Desert – a process that he says took four days and allowed him to “grow in confidence” in reflecting on what he’d created.

“Everywhere you stopped at roadhouses across the Nullarbor [it was well received]. For the average guy to say, ‘Gee, I like that. I wouldn’t mind that in my backyard!’ I really felt that I’d done something special.”

Sculpture by the Sea is open to the public for free from October 20 until November 6, 2016.

Tile and cover image: Clyde Yee, courtesy of Sculpture by the Sea