A record number of works will be on display during the week-long event, which officially begins tomorrow, with the 47 sculptures on display created using a range of recycled materials.
Among the entries will be Bertram artist Jacq Chorlton’s 2m tall and 3m wide peacock, constructed from a repurposed cantilever umbrella and brilliantly decorated with a quilt of melted bottle tops to create the spectacular plumage.
It is Chorlton’s sixth successive year exhibiting a work at the awards.
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READ NOW‘Last year I made a boat from plastic for the exhibition and there were some gaps that needed filling,’ she said.
‘I melted some bottle tops in a sandwich press to create tiles to fill the gaps and the multi-coloured circles created reminded me of a peacock.
‘I had four sandwich presses on the go at a time to make a fair few hundred feathers and had people throwing bags of lids on my doorstep to use.’
This ingenuity is just one example of the myriad ways the various artists have created their pieces, all of which will be on display for the public until May 18.
Castaways curator Lyn DiCiero told the Courier that even the forecast rain today and the long-term forecast for more throughout the |period of the exhibition couldn’t dampen the spirits of those involved.
‘Every time rain is predicted (in Perth) it doesn’t always happen, so we will have to wait and see if we even get any,’ she said.
‘I’m confident it will all be good (today).’
Participating artists this year include Vaughn Bisscops, Bridget Norton, Holly Pepper, Olivia Samec, Don Walters, Yuko Takahashi, Tom de Munk-Kerkmeer, David Brophy and Robin Yakinthou. The judges are Art Gallery of WA director Stefano Carboni and arts journalist Stephen Bevis.