Oriah Rapley carving The Goddess Energy Within during the 2016 Rotorua Sculpture Symposium. Photo/Supplied
Oriah Rapley carving The Goddess Energy Within during the 2016 Rotorua Sculpture Symposium. Photo/Supplied
Eighteen talented sculptors, including three from Iran, have been chosen to take part in the 2018 Rotorua Sculpture Symposium in November.
Picked from more than 25 entries, the finalists will spend 10 days carving and sculpting pieces relating to this year's symposium theme Ngā Wai o Rotorua – The Watersof Rotorua.
The biennial event has previously attracted sculptors from around the world and this year is no different. While the majority of carvers are from New Zealand, this year's finalists also include Thomas Luescher from Switzerland and Iranian artists Maryam Sharifi Shoorijeh, Seyyad Hosseini, and Amin Balaghi.
Claire Sadler carving Interconnection during the 2016 Rotorua Sculpture Symposium. Photo/Supplied
Symposium organiser and Rotorua Lakes Council public art adviser Marc Spijkerbosch has run the event since its inception in 2014 and thinks it gets better each year.
"I'm constantly impressed with the depth and breadth of talent that applies to participate in our event. The Rotorua Sculpture Symposium has earned a solid reputation within local and national sculpting circles so it's a real coup to have such a strong international presence in 2018.
"The symposium is a forum for sculptors to share ideas and techniques. It's fascinating to watch these works of art evolve from a variety of raw and rugged materials. Once again, the sculpture symposium promises to be an event not to be missed," Spijkerbosch said.
The sculptors choose the material they carve with from Oamaru stone, Taranaki andesite, or macrocarpa, with some combining several of the materials into their final design.
The symposium opens on November 16 and carvers work through the weekend and following week to complete their sculptures.
