Sculptures by the Sea – Bondi Beach 2012

I’m clearly not very great at capturing a moment and immediately putting the words down on paper, I prefer to think of it as ‘living in the moment’ and attempting not to fall victim to the well-known stereotype of a blogger who only sees the world through the lens of a camera{phone} rather than experiencing it fully. Some would argue that I still spend most of my days behind the phone, but hey, work is still work, right?

Here’s one of my favorite things about living in Sydney. This city loves it some culture. Some call it snobby, but I see it as a door always open, if you don’t want to participate, there are plenty of other doors and windows around here to look through.

Each year since 1997, on the famous stretch of coastal pathway between Bondi and Tamarama Beach, for three weeks, local artists install some of their famous pieces for all to see. Some pieces are… interesting… some are beautiful and some are the kind of modern art that makes you mumble, ‘Well, if that’s all it take for me to get rich…’. However you choose to feel about art, this is still on exhibit to see. I’ve made it to this exhibit both years I’ve lived in Sydney so far, if all else fails, look at the immense blue of the Pacific Ocean sprawling out before you.

Even a short 10-minute walk from my doorstep to the start of the sloping incline that would lead me to the artworks wasn’t enough to convince me to make the trek on a particularly humid day, or enough to make me change my plans and get out on the path until the second-to-last day of the exhibit.

It was 7:15am on Saturday morning when my alarm buzzed. Usually I would shun an alarm at that hour on a weekend, but the brightness of an already high in the sky {slightly blocked} sun, and the extra two hours compared to my usual sleep regime, meant that I was ready for action.

Jenn and I made sure that we had a Bondi-perfect coffee in hand before we started the long walk to Tamarama, but we didn’t waste too much time, as to ensure that we didn’t get caught in a swarm of early-rising tourists. Our third companion was Jenn’s newly arrived (after 4 months of waiting) Chihuahua, Jameson. Much of the battle was trying to convince him not to claim each artwork as his own among the dog kingdom.

The stormy, dark clouds were a perfect backdrop for a morning of photographing a scenic route that we often take for granted on our hasty early morning runs.

Here is the view of Sculptures by the Sea through Instagram.

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

 Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Sculptures by the Sea - Bondi Beach 2012

Until next year.