John Petrie receives the $100,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award for ‘23.5°’

John Petrie, Aqualand Sculpture Award recipient with artwork ‘23.5°’, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2023. Photo Charlotte Curd

Congratulations to John Petrie (NSW), this year’s recipient of the Aqualand Sculpture Award. The acquisitive award of $100,000, is the most generous sculpture award in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the most sought-after in the world. ‘23.5°’ will be gifted by Aqualand for permanent public placement in NSW. ‘23.5°’ is a 2.6m high work made from basalt and inspired by the Earth’s axis. The sculpture brings together the rugged boulder terrain of The Great Dividing Range and the refined aesthetic Petrie was exposed to when living in Japan.

The Aqualand Sculpture Award was selected by this year’s judging panel consisting of:

• Olga Cironis – Artist;
• Takuro Kurokouchi – Chief Curator, The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Japan
• Terence Maloon – Former Director, Australian National University Drill Hall Gallery and former Senior Curator, Special Exhibitions, Art Gallery of NSW; and
• Dr Nien Schwarz – Artist & Honorary Senior Lecturer, Edith Cowan University.

Previous recipients David Ball’s Orb and Johannes Pannekoek’s Change Ahead are located in the Harbour Trust collection at Headland Park in Georges Heights, part of the Sydney Harbour Sculpture Collection.

We are also pleased to announce last year’s recipient of the award, Tony Davis’ ‘Folly Interstice’, will be gifted by Aqualand to the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail.