MOULAMEIN Art Gallery’s Amateur Sculpture Competition saw some far from amateur creations this year.
The community event took place earlier in the month, accompanied with live music from Stuart Holt, a grazing table filled with local products along with a cosy fire pit to keep warm.
Local artists showcased their ability with creations ranging from echidnas, head pieces to life size emus and other animal interpretations.
Lloyd Polkinghorne took on the difficult role as this year’s judge, carefully scoring the 32 entries.
The winners for the large section were dynamic duo Marty Horne and Rhys Mortensen with their life size scorpion masterpiece.
The winner for the small section was Anthony Harris with his bird of paradise.
“The sculptures are still on display and for sale, ranging from $20 to $15,000,” said Moulamein Art Gallery president Kathy Gibson.
The high prices may or may not indicate a reluctance from some of the artists in regard to parting with their beloved creations.
Local craftsman John ‘China’ Gibson has been involved in every sculpture competition to date.
This year, he entered four items including a snake, a fisherman, a “dunny spider” and A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger.
The Guardian asked Mr Gibson what inspires his work, “I don’t know. I saw the snake in a book, so I made a snake. The dunny spider – I saw an old toilet and thought I could make a spider out of that.
“We just find a piece and build something out of it,” he said.
“Freddy Krueger came to me out of a pile of junk but he was just there for laughs; he was never going to win, old Freddy.”
Mr Gibson encourages people to visit the gallery and “see what you can do with junk and how you can make something out of nothing.
“Come and get a good coffee, a homemade cake, see the local produce and have a look at the artwork,” he said.
The Moulamein Art Gallery is currently open Thursday and Friday 10am – 4pm, located at 33 Morago Street, Moulamein.
