Do Bikinis and Art Mix?

We made sure we visited one of Australia's most iconic art exhibition in the country, even if we had to fly there from Alice Springs.

The sky was that Western Australian Blue with one or two wisps of streaky humid clouds – enough to give photographs some dramatic effects. Stepping onto the warm, white sand of Cottesloe Beach on this perfect summers day felt like arriving in paradise. The fine white sand squeezing in between the toes was slowing us down as we approached the first pieces of art. 




It was all there on display – innovation - drama - stainless, shiny steel – lines of orange emergency-fencing – Lego on sticks – a row of sheets gently waving in the wind - THE aBSTRACT - compOSitions - contours - expressions of creative souls. Somehow, the ocean always featuring, in reflections, background or peeking through, whilst battling for superiority in a beauty contest with the sculptures.
 

We paused for a bunch of school kids rolling around in laughter on patch-work beanbags at the coned  “homeless” exhibit, wondering how stoked you would be to score a trip to the beach and swap school books for a feast of fine art. Crowd participation in the art world is alive.
 

Interactive art

Some pieces felt like they had landed softly on the sand from a place far beyond our galaxy. A giant glass ball appeared to be a crowd favourite. Many stood still to admire the unusual shaped Norfolk pines and goggle-eyed shapes of the Cottesloe surrounds, filtering through the shiny orb. Their gazes in the magic ball only crudely interrupted when another visitor approached too close and cast their ghostly, fairground mirror reflexion.

 

On the pier it became even more interesting as we stood there mesmerized by massive tears on blackened rock - only a giant dinosaur-like creature could have shed?

A 'surfy dude' made out of rectangular cylinders almost disappeared if you looked through him  front-on.

Totally rad!!!

 

 

Sculptures by the sea makes you wonder if those grand old marbled hallways of  'Le Louvre' is in need of a couple of truckloads of white dusty Cottesloe sand. To spice things up, someone may need to send a pair of bikinis for 'Mona Lisa'. 

In between all this stunning art, life on the beach must go on, it appears. There is the obligatory toddler eating a hand-full of sand, young board-short donning guys running in to the ocean with their surfboard and bikini clad ladies, sun-soaking only metres away from the exhibition and visiting masses with camera’s. So, we were wondering hasn't anyone taken offence to the art, the photographers or the bikinis?

 

 

 

No one seemed to care.

 

Art and bikinis...

 

a perfect match.

Grey Bits

 

Sculptures by the Sea, number 13 has just wrapped up. Feel free to visit their website where you can find out the diverse places the artists are from, who won the $50,000 prize money and lots more. Just don't miss it next year.
http://sculpturebythesea.com/cottesloe/

Tears of a ......?