It took the equivalent of nine days work for Katoomba sculptor Ian Swift and his helpers to create Parasitus Detritus.
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An abseiling friend was dispatched at the top of the cliff between Bondi and Tamarama to put the fishing net into place before the group attached 1300 found objects to it.
The result is a bright and colourful work, Swift’s 11th appearance in the annual Sculptures by the Sea.
“I have about 35 milk crates stacked to the brim with the little critters,” he said. “I got it all in my ute in one load but then it took a long time to put up.
“Heinrich from the gallery [Katoomba’s Lost Bear Gallery], who is an artist, is also a rock climber and abseiler. So I had him in a harness dropping down from the cliffs, putting all the nets up high.
“Then an old school friend and his daughter, my wife and two volunteers from Newcastle Uni used cable ties to put the objects on the net.
“It’s another environmental piece, which is pretty much where my work has been for about 20 years.”
Exhibiting somewhere like Sculptures by the Sea has its challenges, Swift said.
“For an art object to grab your attention, it’s got to compete with the sea and the sky. So in a landscape like that you need a bit of scale.”
The “scale” in this case is about 100 square metres of net.
“I went for a lot of colour – reds and oranges and shiny reflective surfaces and mirror balls that move and pick up the light.”
He was impressed with the whole exhibition, now in its 20th year. “I think it’s probably the best one I’ve seen. There’s something for everybody. You just can’t find any works that aren’t really strong.”
