Dream Palisade 2019 is an expression of how we can all be fortified by hope in light of changing climates and rising sea levels. The work houses buried aspirations, forming a barricade against the incoming tide, wind and rain.

Winner of the Award for Artistic Excellence at the 2019 Strand Ephemera Sculpture Festival, Townsville, Queensland, Judge Bradley Vincent said:

“It is a work that, like the best works, reveals more and more layers the more time you spend with it. We were first struck by its form, the perfect scale and presence for its location and the way it allowed itself to be framed by the its surrounds. It invites the viewer down from the foreshore, onto the beach,”

“Once you are near, you notice the materials used. It speaks beautifully to the history of land art, being made of the very material of its location. This is such a perfect way to talk about environmental issues – here, a message of the need for both action and preparedness.

“Then we see the pillowcases standing in for traditional sandbags. They evoke a feeling of both nostalgia and of familiarity. We can probably all find in there a particular pattern that we ourselves have slept on at some point. In this way, this is a work that speaks to both the environment and the individual, placing each of us firmly in the frame.

“Finally, we returned at night to find gentle lights embedded in the work, casting an inviting glow. It is a truly deserving and timely winner.”