The Bega couple who seamlessly work together on their intricate sculptures

Bega couple Ulan Murray and Rachel Burns have been making their intricate sculptures together for some 15 years.

Ms Burns said they have been married 25 years.

"We have built together, renovated houses together so the artwork has become another thing we do together."

To say it is working is an understatement.

Since 2010 they have won countless awards and prizes in NSW and South Australia.

That includes many People's Choice awards reflecting the widespread appeal and accessibility of their work, and they were finalists in the 2022 National Capitol Art Prize.

They have exhibited across NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT, notably at Floriade and the Art Gallery of NSW in 2015.

They have quite different backgrounds.

While Ms Burns studied sculpture at art school "decades ago", she primarily painted until moving to sculpture 15 years ago.

Mr Murray has a horticultural background and later studied biology at university.

"I stumbled into sculpture about 20 years ago.

"It was more by accident than design," he said.

They discuss everything about their work and feed off each other.

"We have moved away from the idea of individuality because our lives are so entwined," Ms Burns said.

"The most fun is going down to the workshop but not picking up tools.

"We play, moving things around, putting something totally random next to something else and saying whether or not it will work," she said.

Clearly nature is a major source of inspiration, with Mr Murray loving nature and its patterns, and the organic structures he saw in horticulture.

Ms Burns sees references between science and art like the beautiful drawings of plants and root systems that scientists do.

"Ours is a more poetic narrative so it is borrowing and appropriating from them."

So rather than starting with the intent to do a work based on a specific tree they begin with an abstract idea like the force of nature.

"It allows us more freedom," she said.

"Instead of being categorically descriptive, it is more a gesture or an expression."

For Mr Murray the wonder of sculpture is how intricate and detailed it can be with hours of work.

"When people look at it, they can see the hours that went into it," he said.

They like supporting the local art scene and that Sculpture Bermagui showcases many local artists.

"It is just a nice thing to have a body of local and other artists showing together," Mr Murray said.