Sculpture on the Edge 2016 award recipients announced

His piece The Giving Tree, currently on display in Bermagui opposite Horseshoe Bay, is made out of steel and attached to a rock, reaching over three metres in height and width. 

The announcement was made on Saturday, March 5, at the opening of Sculpture on the Edge, which was attended by a large crowd who almost packed out the Bermagui Community Centre. 

On the evening, Bega Valley Shire Mayor Michael Britten said as winner of the $10,000 acquisitive prize, the Tanja-based artist’s artwork will be installed in Eden after consultation with Mr Moffatt himself and the community. 

“To me, art begins in the eye of the creator and culminates in the eye of the beholder,” Mayor Britten said. 

Festival patron Janet Hawley also spoke at the opening, thanking event manager Jan Ireland for her work and said “the trouble with creative people is that they need an audience”.

“If you are a sculptor, it is really hard to get your work shown,” she said. 

Ms Hawley announced the the $5000 Cox Family Prize, which went to David Doyle for his work Bermagui Mob – a group of bounding kangaroos made from steel. 

The Belconnen Arts Centre Exhibition Prize went to Ben Eyles and, in a somewhat curious choice, the ANU Residency Prize went to Tim Barrass for his piece the Fears of City People in the Country – a steel pipe in the grass which emitted sounds. 

While a range of award recipients were announced at the festival’s opening, only one claimed their prize in person – Rebecca Selleck from Canberra who won the South Coast Holiday Park’s encouragement award for her intriguing piece Fenkata/Watering Hole that was partly made using rabbit pelts that were warm to the touch. 

Sculpture on the Edge runs to March 14 in Bermagui with artworks at the town’s Endeavour Point Headland, Dickinson Park as well as in the community centre. 

The People’s Choice Award winners will be announced at the community picnic and fire festival from 5-8pm on March 13 at Endeavour Point Headland.