THE opening of Perth Children’s Hospital might be a contentious issue but Fizz, the artwork on the building’s eastern faade, leaves a favourable impression.
The artist responsible is Coolbinia sculptor Stuart Green, who is preparing for his fourth Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe with a similar work.
“Fizz is about an energetic field of buzzing pieces and (b)Rain for Sculpture by the Sea is another kind of example of that energetic field,” Green said.
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READ NOW“In this case it’s clumped to creative form. The sculpture is a highly abstract, cloud-like collection of squares and you could also see it as a brain, so it plays on the idea of brainstorm and rainstorm.
“It’s made out of aluminium squares which are seemingly randomly places, although they’re actually not, and we argue about the placement of each square. It looks like this chaotic cloud form with electrical cable raining down through it.
“It is approximately 2m by 2m by 2.8m and is probably one of the smallest works we’ve done for quite a while.”
Green has worked as an artist since 1984 and turned to large scale sculptures in 1992 after being torn between painting and sculpture.
“For quite a while I tried doing both but sculpture required a commitment to one or the other and sculpture won out,” he said.
“Why? I guess because there’s a kind of physicality to it which I’ve always appreciated and it has an impact on a space.”
While Green is the artist, his Bassendean studio also includes professional fabricators and design detailers to bring his sculptures to fruition.
The 14th annual Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe will feature more than 70 Australian and international artists showcasing their work during the 18-day event.
Green said the annual exhibition was a wonderful chance for Perth residents to view artworks they might not usually experience.
“Perth is not a huge art-devouring city as opposed to some others; we’ve probably got more jet skis than sculptures,” he said.
“It makes art highly visible, so it’s a great opportunity to show my work and a great opportunity for Perth to see what sculpture can do.
“Art often isn’t about illustrating one idea, it’s possibly about giving clues to a number of ideas and then the fun is in that combination.”
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe is on March 2 to 19.