Ben Apfelbaum

SCULPTURE BY THE SEA : A YEAR OF FIRSTS

There were a number of firsts at this year’s Sculpture by The Sea.

For the first time a Victorian James Parrett has won the Aqualand Sculpture Award worth $70,000 for his work ‘M-fortysix’. The Waverley Council Mayor’s Award worth $5000 was won by Mu Boyan from China for his sculpture simply entitled ‘Horizon’. It is also the first time that these prize winners were announced midway through the Festival. This was due to the inability of the organisers to anchor all the sculptures because of bad weather loosening the soil between Bondi and Tamarama. It was felt that only when all the sculptures were secure that the winner could be announced.

Another first, to be the best of my recollection, is the inclusion of two inflatable sculptures, Goldberg Aberline Studio’s  (they created the sculpture commemorating 40 years of Mardi Gras) ‘Microcosm’ and Cool Shit’s ‘Damien Hirst Looking For Sharks’.

The final innovation was the inclusion of a living sculptor in the form of a man walking the exhibition route covered in plastic bags which he collected from around the coastline, washed them and then attached them all over himself. For those who were more inquisitive, he spoke of his ecological concerns.

I have also included some sculptures that may be contenders for the People’s Choice Award worth $5000 which will be announced at the conclusion of Sculpture By The Sea.

Ironically, although this exhibition is an eastern suburbs event highlight, all the winning sculptures are placed with the permission of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust at Georges Heights’ Headland Park on the north shore.

This year’s Sculpture By The Sea has been dedicated to the memory of Victorian sculptor Matthew Harding who prematurely died earlier this year and whose sculpture ‘Antithesis’ features in this year’s exhibition.

At the conclusion of this year’s Sculpture By The Sea two more significant awards were announced.

The People’s Choice Prize worth $5000 was won by Gillie and Marc Schattner for their sculpture ‘come out, come out, wherever you are’.

The Kids Choice Prize worth $4000 was awarded to Mu Boyan for his sculpture ‘Horizon’.

Featured image – The winning sculpture James Parrett’s “M-fortysix’. All pics by Ben Apfelbaum

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.