Professor Shen Lieyi announced as recipient of prestigious $100,000 Aqualand Sculpture Awards for ‘Tracing’ at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi's 26th exhibition

Chinese artist Professor Shen Lieyi has become the first Asian sculptor to receive the prestigious $100,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award, one of Australia’s richest art awards.

Shen’s winning entry titled ‘Tracing’ stands three metres tall and is crafted from bronze and granite. It was inspired by the source of flowing water and the challenges of life, with the idea of walking upstream a metaphor for going against the flow. In this sculpture, it symbolises reflecting on the past, seeking origins and exploring the essence of things.

Image: Professor Shen Lieyi (China), ‘Tracing’, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2024. From left to right, Alex Adams, Head of Sales Marketing, Aqualand, Sally Loane, Chairman, Destination NSW, Allegra Spender MP Member for Wentworth, Cr Will Nemesh Mayor, Waverley Council, Niyati Mehta representing Consulate General of India and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre and David Handley AM Founding CEO & Artistic Director, Sculpture by the Sea. Photo: Charlotte Curd.

Born in Hangzhou, China, Shen Lieyi is renowned for merging personal experience with nature in his conceptual sculptures. His work is featured in public collections, including the National Museum of China, Nanjing Museum, Zhejiang Art Museum, and Basel, Switzerland. He also has a major piece in the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail in southern NSW. The Aqualand Sculpture Award is testament to Aqualand’s long-term commitment to helping make arts and culture accessible to the entire community.

“I’ve always tried to integrate Eastern wisdom and thinking into my creations, and the acceptance of my works by Australians and tourists has inspired me. With the help of art, we can share different ideas and thoughts in public spaces, which I believe is the most fascinating aspect of art. A sculpture is not complete until it is seen by the public.”

Founding director of Sculpture by the Sea, David Handley said it been a real surprise that no artist from Asia had received its major acquisitive award before, given the Japanese, Chinese and Korean artists who had, in large numbers, made the walk such an international exhibition.

“Lieyi’s work is structurally fascinating and brilliantly executed,” he said. “The subtlety of the granite carving and uprooted tree holding itself up in the current of life is stunning.”

Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi is the world’s largest free to the public sculpture exhibition. The spectacular coastal walk is once again transformed into a 2km long sculpture park over three weeks featuring more than 100 sculptures by artists from Australia and across the world.

Selected by the exhibition’s Judging Panel, the Aqualand Sculpture Award is an acquisitive award with the sculpture gifted by Aqualand for permanent public placement.

Aqualand Sculpture by the Sea - Shen Lieyi - Tracing by Charlotte Curd