Phillip Piperides the sculpture behind Bee Gees Way and other Brisbane creations

PHILLIP Piperides could tell by the look on Barry Gibb’s face that he loved the bronze sculpture he crafted of the pop star and his brothers for the opening of Bee Gees Way.

PHILLIP Piperides could tell by the look on Barry Gibb’s face that he loved the bronze sculpture he crafted of the pop star and his brothers for the opening of Bee Gees Way.

The Brendale-based artist, who created statues of the Bee Gees as boys and men, admits he was nervous when the last remaining Gibb brother saw them up close for the first time.

Barry Gibb will officially open stage two of Bee Gees Way today at Redcliffe. Barry Gibb at the new statue in Bee Gees way

“I met him at (the opening of) both stages. At the first stage he was really good, he’s quite a humble man, he congratulated us and so on. But the second stage is probably when he got a little bit closer to shake hands and asked me to unveil it together with him, so that was very nice,” Phillip says.

“I was nervous, very nervous actually, until we unveiled it. He congratulated me right there and the look on his face really said it all.”

Barry Gibb in Redcliffe for the unveiling of the Bee Gee's Statue and Bee Gee's Way. Picture: Peter Wallis

Phillip’s been toiling in his foundry for about 30 years creating sculptures of well-known people such as rugby league legend Darren Lockyer and former Brisbane Lord Mayor Clem Jones. When Moreton Life visited his workshop he was restoring a 110-year-old statue which usually resides in Brisbane’s Anzac Square.

Phillip Piperides and his sculpture of ex Lord Mayor Clem Jones. (AAP Image/Steve Pohlner)

He was also working on an original piece ahead of the Swell Sculpture Festival at the Gold Coast, which runs until September 23. Titled Facing East, it is a sculpture of a contemplative woman facing the rising sun each day. “It’s going on top of Elephant Rock and it will stand about 3m high once we’ve put the base onto it,” he says.

Brisbane scuplture Phillip Piperides works on a sculpture for Swell Festival.

Phillip’s father was a potter and the now 61-year-old grew up with his hands in clay. It remains his favourite part of the process.

His sculptures start off in clay form before being reproduced in wax, rubber and bronze.

When asked if there was a person he’d seen in the media or met in life that he’d like to create a sculpture of, Phillip says it would most likely be one of his art friends.

He and some mates who have known each other for many years are working on a project where they will create portraits of each other.

“We’ve all aged a little bit. It’s interesting to see the change,” he says, laughing.

In the meantime, he and his team — Simon Cooper and son Alex Piperides, have six sculptures and 35 lamp posts to restore and return to Anzac Place by November. “It’s a big job. They are heritage listed and so we’ve got to handle them with care,” Phillip says.