Finalists for 2023 Castaways Sculpture Awards Selected

The exhibition encourages recycling, with art as its vehicle of communication. This year Catia Dolzadelli reflects on psychological misadventure through her work, In Case of Emergency, an exquisite suitcase created from aluminium offcuts.

 

Coster Mkoki’s work, A Labour of Love 2, describes his unflinching willpower, putting one foot in front of the other, as he works to bring his family in South Africa to Australia. Linda Rae, the very first artist from Kalgoorlie to be selected for Castaways, sends imploring environmental messages, whispered on the wind by Mother Earth, in Iris – Messenger of the Gods.  

 

At the Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition, Paul Fontanini celebrates the hidden beauty in nature’s decay, casting molten aluminium into a rotted, hollow jarrah log in Casting with Nature – Hollow Jarrah Fragment 1.

Using upcycled aluminium and stainless-steel cookware and electrics, Lisa Dymond has created This Feels Tight, a quirky figure seemingly trapped by its own electric light head. 

For the fourth year, Castaways has a guest artist, a move designed to encourage an exchange of knowledge between more experienced artists and emerging artists. Denise Pepper will be the guest artist for 2023 and her work is seen in both outdoor sculpture and gallery shows. She is the recipient of a raft of prizes both in Australia and overseas, and in 2021 was one of just 13 people selected from across the country to participate in the TV series Making It Australia on Network 10. 

Castaways also aims to encourage environmentalism in future generations, with primary schools and secondary schools featuring in the Castaways Schools Exhibition.

Mayor Deb Hamblin said Castaways highlights the City’s strong commitment to recycling and its growing reputation as a centre of cultural activity.

“Castaways provides artists with a platform to highlight their creative abilities and there will be 63 sculptures on display at the Rockingham Foreshore and Rockingham Arts Centre,” Mayor Hamblin said.

The City looks forward to welcoming community members and visitors from far and wide to this fabulous event, and we thank sponsors Alcoa and Fremantle Ports for their continued support.

Curator Lyn Di Ciero says works in Castaways are often poetic and thought-provoking, but also fun. ”Castaways 2023 promises to be an exceptional show, and visitors will not be disappointed.”

Prizes for Castaways 2023 include:

$10,000 Alcoa Major Award$5,000 Innovation Award$5,000 Sustainability Award$2,500 Maquette and Small Sculpture Award$2,000 City of Rockingham Local Resident Award$500 Alcoa Primary School Award$500 Secondary School AwardThree People’s Choice Awards across each exhibition (sponsored by Fremantle Ports)

Judges for Castaways Sculpture Awards in 2023 are Edith Cowan University Associate Professor Lyndall Adams and artist Peter Dailey.

Castaways Schools Competition judges in 2023 are artist Mikaela Castledine and art educator Sophie Jaques.

For more information visit Castaways. 

Image one: Phil Gamblen's Burst.

Image two: Catia Dolzadelli's In Case of Emergency. 

Image three: Coster Mkoki’s work, A Labour of Love 2. 

Image four: Iris – Messenger of the Gods by Linda Rae. 

Image five: Paul Fontanini's Casting with Nature – Hollow Jarrah Fragment 1.

Image six: This Feels Tight by Lisa Dymond. 

Image seven: Sweet Summer by guest artist Denise Pepper.