Sculpture by the Sea 2012 Launches

Sculpture by the Sea launched Thursday along the coast walk between Bondi and Tamarama beach. Sculptors from around the world have resumed their annual pilgrimage to Waverley municipality, with a selection of local and international sculpture prettily dividing sea from land.

Best in show plaudits were pointed at US sculptor Peter Lundberg, who won the Balnaves Foundation Sculpture prize for his Barrell Roll. His win was not from lack of competition. Competitors were well suited to their surroundings, such as the pleasing cacophony of Cave Urban’s multiple, wooden wind-chime piece mengenang (memory) or its nearby contemplative companion in Stephen Marr’s camouflage piece the optimist.

Among the fresh in situ sculpture this year Stuart Couzens’ matryoshka (“russian doll”) presents a satisfying nest of wooden containers within containers within containers, while James Hallberg and René Dybdahl’s how close we are is a giant eye of a matching needle outside the Aarhaus Town Hall in Denmark, which blinks a light as people are invited to jump up and pass through the eye of its Australian twin. A sign in front of it says “please do not touch this artwork”.

Along the walk between Marks Park and Tamarama Bay, Paul Kaptein’s and in the endless pauses, there came a sound is a satyr sound recordist carved out of wood, with a huge microphone, headphones and visibly absent pants. Gillie and Marc Schattner’s the travellers have arrived carves out some reciprocal nudity and animal heads, while Dave Mercer’s View^TM gives the vista towards Clovelly cemetery a branded makeover. Tamarrama beach resumes its obligatory, not unwelcome, theme of giant beach things this year, with Carl Tindall, Carly Buteux and Grahame Tindall's half-buried sunglasses *lost in the glare*, an oversized oversize Tonka truck and Adam Hill and Will Coles’ really bins last seen on Macquarie street in the Aboriginal Art Prize

Image: Stephen Marr's the optimist.