Tidescape

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About the work

Title: Tidescape
Artist: Clary Akon
Location: Watsons Bay Baths, Watsons Bay

Local artist Clary Akon together with Juan Pablo Pinto have recreated some of the underwater scenes that are synonymous with Watsons Bay, Australia’s oldest fishing village. The work features an underwater themed frieze comprising of silhouettes of seaweed and darting schools of fish being chased by a cormorant. The silhouettes are laser cut from thick phosphor bronze sheeting and then welded together to form a single piece that is fixed to the eastern end of the northern arm of the baths.

About the project

Clary Akon was selected to create a public artwork that represents the unique character of the area. Clary has been sculpting since the age of seven and has created a number of public and private sculptural commissions including a bronze sculpture for Bradfield Park at Milsons Point to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.The Watsons Bay Baths Public Art Project is part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to improve accessibility to the arts. The Council recognised there was a wonderful opportunity to incorporate public art into the historic and iconic aquatic environment of the Watsons Bay Baths. We wanted something that reflected Watsons Bay’s rich maritime and cultural history and would be a creative legacy for the community to enjoy and celebrate for many generations to come.

—Councillor Isabelle Shapiro, Mayor of Woollahra, 2011