Argestes Aqua
Byron Bay & Mornington
2005
Created for the "artsCape" sculpture exhibition held at Byron Bay in June of 2005, this sculpture was mounted atop a cliff at the most easterly point of mainland Australia. Based on the theme of nautical navigation, and responding to the nearby Cape Byron lighthouse, the sculpture proved to be a hugely successful attraction within the exhibition and in fact remained in situ long after the exhibition was taken down.
The sculpture stands almost 4.5 metres tall, and is made of a mosaic technique: thousands of timy squares of steel flat bar welded free-hand to create the form of the male figure. In one hand he holds aloft a windrose, which is an ancient navigational compass, and in the other a brass ship's bell, wrapped in chains around his feet and weighing the sculpture down to the plinth.
Such was the weight and scale of the sculpture that Andy used a helicopter to install the work, which made for a striking spectacle as it hovered in over the Pacific Ocean as migrating whales breeched below...
The artwork was purchased by a private collector and now graces his estate on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne.
Spiral of Life
This figurative piece also employs the steel mosaic technique. It was commissioned by Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and marks the gateway to their Kelvin Campus, a technology business development park on the outskirts of Glasgow. The sculpture stands 2.5 metres tall, and is mounted atop an old 4 metre high tree stump ensuring high visibility for passing motorists on the adjacent busy main road.
