Clouds on wheels deliver top prize

Capel artist Helen Seiver has expressed her delight at the winning the major prize at The Survey exhibition which is running at the Bunbury Regional Art Galleries.

The Edith Cowan University arts lecturer claimed the award from a field of 52 artists for her sculpture Cloud Seeding Express when the exhibition opened on June 3.

The Emerging Artist Award was won by Paul Reynolds while Ian Thwaites won the Graham and Vicky Teede Acquisitive Award.

Ms Seiver said she was surprised to win the award for her sculpture, which is made up of metal and recycled materials.

“I was in absolute shock when they said my name, it felt like time stood still,” she said.

“I’d won the major award in 2001 and received a highly commended award in the year before that but it was great because this year the work will be acquired by the Bunbury City Council’s Art Collection.”

Ms Seiver said the idea of the sculpture came after doing a similar piece as part of the Dardanup Art Spectacular art trail.

“I was thinking about clouds and the lack of rainfall, I was taking in a serious subject and doing something playful and strange,” she said.

“The idea is that the clouds are on a trolley and the ridiculous idea that we could move them around when we need rainfall.”

Ms Seiver welded the metal parts together to make the sculpture, a skill she developed in recent years.

The exhibition is open until July 24.