In homage to a species whose numbers are on the increase throughout the Sunshine Coast, the Gambier Island Art Hive have erected slightly oversized sculptures of a Roosevelt elk bull and cow. The public art pieces, made of driftwood (with a few screws and a little paint for definition) located at the top of Cardiac Hill, overlooking New Brighton dock, are a hit with island locals and visitors, according to Hive member, sculptor and island resident George Rammell.
The project began as part of a push to include Gambier Island sites into the annual autumn Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, Rammell said in an Sept. 4 telephone interview with Coast Reporter. He said a handful of local artists, who refer to themselves as an Art Hive, constructed the sculpture over a five-hour period during the July 21 supermoon phase, also known as the “buck moon.” According to the Farmer’s Almanac that term is used “because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time.”
“I wanted to make use of material that most people would throw on a burn pile, and it is interesting what happens. On one level it’s low brow material but It can become high brow art,” he said.
As for how the representations of the largest of the four surviving elk species in North America unfolded, Rammell said it was very much a collaboration of everyone in the creative group; “first you build a kind of skeletal structure then you start adding all these lines and sticks, adding volume and mass and all of a sudden you get this rhythm happening”.
During the construction phase, Rammell noticed most people passing by the site, whether on foot on in a vehicle, gave the artists “the thumbs up” in appreciation of the work.
Those interested in viewing the work are encouraged to visit before next spring. Although the sculptures are built to withstand year-round conditions on the island he said ‘this piece is not forever.” Rammell’s plan is to reuse the driftwood as fire wood, and for the coming year, the artists group are discussing creation of a killer whale representation made of similarly sourced materials at the same location.
