The Breen Sculpture Competition 2008-2009

Laughing Children’s Garden - Gwuulya Garri Dilya Finalists

Good ideas take some time to turn into reality. One developed by the Towards 2016 Working Group was for the creation a number of features in the Mount Tomah Botanic Garden for children, so the whole Garden has exciting elements for kids.

On 13 November, Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbut launched the Breen Sculpture Competition with a prize of $20,000 to the winner. Over 60 entries were received by the closing date. The Judges have selected three finalists from the entries for the Gwuulya Garri Dilya Garden. The sculptures are to be located adjacent to the new Australian Woodland Garden which provides lots of space for families to picnic, kick around balls and just have fun. 

The entries were judged on their ability to inspire a love of plants ( a Trust mission), to engage with children and be beautiful. Images of the three finalists proposals are below and the description the artist supplied about their idea. There were lots of interesting designs and these three linked inspiring a love of plants,  engaging with children with a sculpture proposal that fitted in the landscape.

Vivienne Lowe - Xylem

'The sculpture is a large leaf structure that shows the leaf margin and veins in 316 stainless steel. It sits at a 90 degree angle to the ground. The structure is approximately 6 metres long and 1.5 meters high. The skeletal structure is narrow and curves in an arc.

It is designed to be a musical instrument that children can play and create sounds. The shape is based on the Eucalyptus fastigata leaf.'

Marcus Tatton - Fantasy of the Fungus

'The sculpture will take the form of three giant toadstools growing out the ground and creating a canopy for children and parents to play under. The toadstools will measure 3.2 m high x 2.4 m in diameter. Also there will be sculptures of Puff balls, Rhizomes, Spores and lava flows. By creating huge scale fungi, the human interaction is immediately child like because the human body is instantly dwarfed  … the end grain of the sawn wood is intended to weather naturally and to develop a textural grey with deep shadowed crevices between wood pieces … wood surfaces resemble the feel of natural trees providing back sapwood and heart wood each provided for the touch and interaction by the audience.'

Glen Manning and Kathy Daly - Pod Pod

'The artwork is comprised of two sculptural ‘organic’ forms exploring the concept of growth, potential and fun. The two stone pods are inspired by seed pods with the design relating Blackwood wattle. The "pods" are low to the ground, as if fallen from a nearby (giant) tree, at a level easy to sit on or climb on. This invitation to interact closely with the sculptures initiates a tactile exploration of the intricate surface detail hand carved into the pod "swellings". The carved effect is of a forest floor of leaves, flowers, insects and amphibians native to the area. Fossil like but also realistic, the details are a microcosm carved and polished into the stones surface.

Judging the entries

• Anthony Bond Assistant Director Art Gallery of NSW
• Prof. Linda Corkery
• Anton James (Botanic Gardens Trust Subcommittee Representative)
• Tom Breen Chief Executive Breenholdings
• Rob Smith, Assistant Director Mount Tomah. 

The finalists have been invited to provide a further detailed proposal for consideration. The announcement of a winner is planned for late May. The entries are on show in the Waratah Centre at Mount Tomah. If you are visiting to see our wonderful autumn displays you may like to take the time to have a look at the entries there.

About the Breen Sculpture Competition

The Breen Sculpture Competition is a national competition. The aim of the competition is to develop, over time, a number of themed displays in the Mount Tomah Botanic Garden, with sculptural pieces related to the theme for each garden area.  

The Breen Sculpture Competition has an award of A$20,000 to the winner and a budget of A$30,000 to fabricate and install the sculpture which engages with children in a thematic garden display at Mount Tomah Botanic Garden.

This competition is open to artists resident in Australia aged 18 or older other than employees or family members of staff of the Botanic Gardens Trust. 

>> View Entry Form and full Terms and Conditions
>> View Children's Garden Map and Photographs - showing areas for installation
>> View Cultural Collection Management Policy (pdf file)

Competition Theme

The theme for this competition and the children's garden which will be created (Garden for children laughing - Gwluuyan Garri Dilya) is Exploring - getting close to nature - to nurture a love of nature in children and adults through their experience of interacting with the sculpture and the landscape it inhabits. 

The sculpture is to be of high artistic merit and must engage with children in an interactive way, as well as be relevant to mission of the Botanic Garden - to inspire the appreciation and conservation of plants.  

The sculpture will be the centrepiece of a landscape to be developed around it. This landscape is to provide a 'children's garden' (Garden for children laughing - Gwluuyan Garri Dilya) which is accessible and entertaining as well as an educative space for children and families.

Sculptors may use natural or artificial materials and the sculpture must be sustainable and be able to be displayed as a permanent element in the outdoor environment at Mount Tomah Botanic Garden.