The Travellers Have Arrived

Langwarrin, Victoria

Each year in Sydney an outdoor sculpture exhibition called Sculpture by the Sea takes place for four weeks along the coastal walk of Bondi and Tamarama. Gillie and Marc have been a part of this festival twice now and have taken out awards for their artworks that have been seen by over a half million people

In 2012, the artists created The Travellers Have Arrived for the event. The festival director’s response was that it was “brilliantly modelled” and a highlight for many visitors.

“Bondi is a pilgrimage,” Marc says “Backpackers from around the world flock there to call it home. The characters were inspired by Mary and Joseph. So the sculpture represents Bondi as a modern-day Bethlehem.”

The Travellers Have Arrived exemplifies the way art can make us feel small. These artworks remind us that we’re just like everyone else, we’re never alone in our travels – whether they’re across the world or across town for coffee. We’re all just ants in an ant farm.

The Travellers Have Arrived is now on permanent exhibition at the McClelland Sculpture Park in Langwarrin, Victoria. The McClelland Sculpture Park is Australia’s leading sculpture park, and an innovative space for contemporary sculpture to be shown.