Committee for Lorne: Lorne Sculpture Biennale returns on March 17

From March 17, the 2018 Lorne Sculpture Biennale (LSB) will celebrate the best in contemporary Australian and international sculpture in a free, vibrant festival that enriches and transforms our stunning foreshore. Over three weekends, Victoria’s most prestigious sculpture exhibition, now presented for the sixth time, will be an unmissable destination.

The 2018 event explores the theme ‘Landfall’, presenting works from 41 artists focussed on global issues of biodiversity and environmental awareness and responsibility. We will see astonishing sculptures and installations which explore the intersection of nature, humanity and art, created by acclaimed artists from Australia and around the world.

The Sculpture Trail will extend from the Lorne Swing Bridge to just beyond the pier and will feature 37 works. The curator has included young emerging artists such as Paul Murphy, Georgina Humphries and Ciara Glover, who will be exhibiting alongside established Australian sculptors such as Jock Clutterbuck and Margaret Worth and regional sculptors such as David Long, Matthew Harding, Merinda Kelly and David Shepherd. Most of the artists practise in Australia, and the exhibition will also include works by Shirin Abedinirad (Iran), Claudia Chaseling and Milan Markovic (Germany and Serbia), John Kelly and Seol Park (Ireland and USA) and Pedro Pires (Portugal and Angola).

Highlights including Lorne Men’s Shed and Tony Wolfenden’s project Couta, located on the pier and evoking the old days of Couta boat fishing; Brigit Heller’s forest of giant rain-catching flower heads at the edge of the grass; David Wood’s two tall copper curtains framing the pathway from the sea to Erskine paddock; and Greg Johns’ large metal figures, The Observers, near the Erskine river mouth inspired by early photographs of Indigenous Australians observing the destruction of their country.

En plein air In full sight is the first augmented reality project for the exhibition. It is described by the artists Seol Park and John Kelly as “Pokemon Go! for the art-loving public” and places an image of an iceberg from Kelly’s work, First berg (2013), adrift on Louttit Bay. The image is activated by viewing via a smart phone.

Audience interaction and performance will be a key focus. Tanja Beer’s The Living Stage in Erskine paddock is part theatre, part garden and part growing demonstration, and features a portable plant-lined stage amongst a corridor of suspended botanical sculptures. C reated in collaboration with local residents, it will celebrate Lorne’s flora and fauna, and host performances by local artists and musicians. At the end of the project, all plants and materials will be returned to the community who helped build it. Physical structures will become garden beds, plants will become food, and waste will become compost.

Two night performances are scheduled: Jill Orr’s Dark night in the evocative old quarry; and Anton Hasell will be smelting and crafting his Spirit Tree Furnace on Cypress avenue, giving audiences of all ages the chance to make their own sculpture.

The organising committee has again invited the community to volunteer to help with meeting and greeting visitors and selling programs. Many of you will know Marion Church and Sicca van Schaardenburg who have coordinated the volunteers for many past exhibitions. If you enjoy talking to people and want to be part of the face of the 2018 Lorne Sculpture Biennale, email [email protected] or download and complete a volunteer form at lornesculpture.com/volunteer.php