Wise Ships of the Desert - Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe, 2021

Sculpture by the Sea at Cottesloe Beach 2021

​On Sunday 6 March, the Western Australian Social Photographers embarked on an adventure to the Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2021. I could feel the wind tangling my hair as soon as I stepped out of the car. Fighting with the wind, I put my hat on and started walking towards our meeting spot at the famous Indiana Teahouse. Once we had all arrived, the photographers were faced with the difficult decision of where to begin. We decided to follow the seagulls, just like the wise men following the Star of Bethlehem. 

The photographers trekked down the hill towards the beach, with our guiding stars the seagulls in view at all times. Having energy to burn, I jumped down a couple of walls while the others shook their heads in disbelief and walked the long way around. When we reached the beach, I went straight to the sandy playground, just like an enthusiastic five-year-old. One sculpture that immediately caught my attention looked like a gigantic yellow intestine, which is a good reminder to keep your cholesterol levels healthy.  ​

We were more like camels than wise men as we trekked on our own feet through the sandy plains, for three hours. It’s reassuring to know that camels are intelligent animals. The expedition was not for the faint hearted, sweeping one photographer off his feet and into the sand. Fortunately for him I blinked and missed it. Unfortunately for me, that could have been an award-winning shot. If he had four legs like a real camel, that mishap may not have happened. On the theme of feet, I got glimpse of a lifeguard’s feet inside their special box. The resulting photograph is a good example of thinking both inside and outside the box. 

A good reminder to keep your cholesterol levels healthy.

A life saver's feet. A good example of thinking both inside and outside the box.

Our seagull GPS turned into chaos when more and more seagulls kept appearing and disappearing. They were having a fun day interfering with our navigation and photobombing our shots. One seagull even pretended to be a sculpture and another headed straight for the Indiana Teahouse.

Seagull pretending to be a sculpture.

Seagull heading into the Indiana Teahouse (see top left corner).

We cruised through the sandy plains like the ships of the desert, admiring the sculptures while dodging people and seagulls. At one point we said hello to a dog on a leash. I tried to take a photo and it nearly licked my camera. There must be something special about my camera because animals have tried to lick it on several occasions now. Maybe it’s just me.

From a distance, I saw a line of fellow travellers who were standing next to the guiding light of a seagull. Just like us, they seemed a bit disorientated with their bodies facing in different directions. I guess it confirms a flaw in the seagull GPS, because even the seagulls couldn't  decide which direction to go. 

Fellow travellers beside a guiding seagull.

Seagulls can't decide which direction to go.

Turning our heads in a different direction, we couldn't help but notice a very pretty structure with plenty of reflecting surfaces. The photographers decided to take a group ‘selfie’ shot through the mirrors. It felt like Christmas, because the sculpture was exquisitely decorated with enormous handprints and what looked like a generous slop of ice-cream. Aside from the group 'selfie,' I took my favourite photo of the day at the same sculpture.  After that we continued our snapping until sunset, the time when camels go to bed, and when seagulls are replaced by real stars.  

Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe is one of my favourite events in Perth and our outing was enjoyable. There is so much to experience and although we were snapping away for three hours, I didn’t get to see all of the sculptures. That’s probably because I got distracted by the seagulls and got carried away taking photographs. I plan to return over the next week to explore some more.

Sculpture by the Sea 2021, shot of the day.

Sculpture by the Sea 2021.

Sculpture by the Sea 2021.

Sculpture by the Sea 2021.