Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin Beach to go from September 6 to 15

More than 60 sculptures will transform a Gold Coast beach and one artists says her piece - nine months in the making - will be a climate change conversation starter.

Emerging local artists Chelsea Jewell, an architect by day, and Alana Cabrera, alias Llama, a textilist, have teamed up to collaborate on a thought-provoking work about climate change titled ’Haven’. Picture Glenn Hampson

More than 60 sculptures will transform a Gold Coast beach and one artists says her piece - nine months in the making - will be a climate change conversation starter.

Currumbin Beach’s Swell Sculpture Festival will kick off on September 6, showcasing more than 350 artists’ work for 10 days.

Local artist’s Chelsea Jewell, 46, and Alana Cabrera, 34, teamed up to created a sculpture called Haven.

Ms Jewell said the artwork was made to encourage conversations about climate change and specifically the Gold Coast’s coastline.

“It ponders the future of our coastline and the ecological communities that have already begun to migrate southward as tropical seas become less habitable,” she said.

Emerging local artists Chelsea Jewell, an architect by day, and Alana Cabrera, alias Llama, a textilist, have teamed up to collaborate on a thought-provoking work about climate change titled ’Haven’. Picture Glenn Hampson

Ms Jewell said the sculpture was made from bamboo, salvaged thread and hand-dyed gauze.

“We have been working through material sourcing and resolving the technical solutions for placing our incredibly delicate work in the challenging beach conditions,” she said.

Ms Jewell said it was their first time entering the Swell Sculpture Festival.

“Making sculptures has been a passion for both of us since childhood,” she said.

“Public art is so compelling for both of us as artists because it is accessible, often playful and provides delight and wonder in the public realm.”

Swell Sculpture Festival co-founder and artistic director Natasha Edwards said they had seen an increase of up to 20 per cent more artists and sculptures this year.

“We have artists in the main exhibition from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and international artists from New Caledonia and Zurich,” she said.

“Many of the sculptures have an environmental theme, encouraging visitors to step outside their comfort zone and confront the realistic threat our earth is facing.”

The free festival will run until September 15.

SWELL Sculptures on display at Currumbin in 2023. Artist Eleri Jones with her piece titled Finity. Picture Glenn Hampson

SWELL Sculptures on display at Currumbin in 2023. Picture Glenn Hampson

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Originally published as Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin Beach to go from September 6 to 15