23 Nov 2011
Simon McGrath, creative at Ogilvy & Mather Sydney, has been awarded the Sydney Water and Environmental Prize for his sculpture in this year's Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi Beach exhibition.
McGrath's debut exhibit in SBTC is a giant fibreglass sculpture of a set of bathroom taps positioned out over a cliff towards the ocean entitled Who left the tap running?.
McGrath is understandably excited by his inclusion in the exhibition and the $10,000 prize but said that the message of the piece was important with his work a humorous way to encourage discussion of the environmental impact of humans on the planet.
“A majority of scientists say global warming is real and that the sea level is rising because of it,” he said. “By placing a giant set of taps off the cliff at Bondi, my work turns the ocean into a giant sink. The title poses the question of who is responsible for the water level rising?”
McGrath believes in the individual parts everyone can play.
“I’ve tried to use a bit of humour to try and sneak under peoples’ radar to get them thinking this one through. Maybe they’ll even come to accept some responsibility and do something about the issue.”
The 15th annual exhibition of Sculpture by the Sea features 109 works and also runs in Cottesloe, Perth and Aarhus in Denmark
