Matthew Cusack
The upcoming Bamboo Sculpture Contest and exhibition at the Mullumbimby Community Gardens is drawing some pretty big attention.
Some of the eye-catching entries reportedly cover up to 36 square metres of ground space, so there’s plenty of room for admirers of the giant works of art.
Organised by the Bamboo Society of Australia, the contest/exhibition is still open to new entrants.
Gardening Australia‘s Costa Georgiadis is one of the judges who will select the winners.
The competition has attracted around 15 entries so far. Closing date for entries is now 30 August. Competition winners will be selected on Saturday afternoon, 6 September at the gardens’ Living Community Festival.
Those wishing to claim the cash prizes will have some stiff competition from Lucid Space Design, two former architecture students who met at the University of Canberra and have created installation pieces for Rainbow Serpent and The Falls Festival among many other events and exhibitions.
Georgiadis, whose attendance is yet to be confirmed, will be joined on the judging panel by Jenette Martin, Jim Mahoney, Stephanie Medew and Robert Bleakley.
The judges will select the top three entrants to grant prizes of $2,500, $1,500 and $500.
‘There is an additional $250 public prize to be chosen by public vote,’ said Kaye Wood, who is organising the bamboo sculpture competition.
Kaye, owner of Byron Bay Bamboo and member of the Bamboo Society of Australia, along with her skilled assistant Guelfo, gave a demonstration on maximising bamboo longevity for building projects at the Mullumbimby Community Gardens on Tuesday this week.
This essentially involved selection of aged bamboo for greater strength, cutting the culms and allowing some leaves to remain at the top of the pieces anticipated for use.
Then the bamboo is treated by soaking the base of the cut pieces in a bucket containing around eight litres of water, a cup of borax and a three-quarter cup of boric acid for around a week, with the bamboo leaning against something solid like a tree so it remains upright and in the bucket.
‘Bamboo is really a fantastic material for building, it’s fast growing and eco friendly,’ Kaye told Echonetdaily.
‘Unfortunately there are no building standards for bamboo currently in Australia,’ she said, however ‘the Bamboo Society of Australia want to start an industry group’ to help change that.
Kaye says the group’s main goal for now is ‘to bring people together and provide bamboo education to communities and members.’
Entry forms for the bamboo sculpture competition are available from Mullumbimby Community Gardens, their website mullumbimbycommunitygardens.org or The Bamboo Society of Australia website bamboo.org.au
Competition winners are to be announced at midday on 7 September as part of the Mullumbimby Community Garden’s Living Community Festival.
Take the big stick. cut it, bend it, and split.
Throw it around the pole and thread it into art if that is your craft.
It’s a boat, well float it on the water or in the air but not on the stock exchange as it needs summing up.
Coming up, coming up is the upcoming, bam, bam, bam Bamboo Sculpture Contest with a bit of bang and a boom in an exhibition at the Mullumbimby Community Gardens in all readiness to make an exhibition of themselves. But this ain’t the Flintstones Bam Bam. Boo to you two.. It’s all coming up soon.