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A sea of hands, a giant ‘lifesaver-saurus’ and a melting robot: Queensland’s SWELL sculpture festival 2026 – in pictures

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The beach becomes a giant art gallery each year as SWELL sculpture festival takes over Currumbin in Queensland’s south-east. Almost 100 large-scale artworks are on display during the free, 10-day outdoor exhibition, now in its 24th year. Among the artists is invited guest Patricia Piccinini, whose bronze sculpture Salute to the Sun ‘is a chimera, seamlessly moving between deer, tree, fungus, human and motorcycle’. The works are on display until Sunday 20 September

Fishers wander past the sculpture I Sea a Comedy by artist Giuseppe Filardo. Photograph: SWELL Sculpture Festival

Fri 18 Sep 2026 11.00 EDT

A woman in a yellow dress takes a photo of a child sitting in the hole of a giant triangle on the sand — ASCEND by Clayton Blake
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White hand sculptures rise up from the ground — The Rise of AI by Andre Braun
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Two women with a small dog pat a giant blue dinosaur wearing a red and yellow life-saver cap — Nipper the Lifesaver-saurus by Mick Brown
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Two children and a woman stand looking over a low white picket fence at upturned beach paraphernalia and rubbish — Emergency Housing by Russell Solomon
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A woman and her dog walk past a sculpture of dolphins jumping out of a large red toaster with “SOMA” written in chrome letters — SOMA by Drew McDonald
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A metal dog stands on its hind legs looking out the window of a rusty car — Driftwoody by Guy Humphries
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A woman reaches up to touch a sculpture hanging from a tree — Between Worlds by Amy Thai
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A cyclist rides past a striped, multicoloured sculpture in the form of a wave — Flying Carpet (Magic Loom) by Fleur Brett
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A smiling, blonde woman wearing a red coat and blue jeans squats down before coloured sculptures on the ground — Nudi Run by Gretchen Keelty
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Pink and yellow horns grow out of a snail-like base. A woman takes a photo of a child sitting on top with arms outstretched — Salute to the Sun by Patricia Piccinini
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A woman takes a photo of a sculpture of a humpback whale adorned with shells — Migaloo by Jessica Miglioranza
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A group of people and two dogs stand on the sand in front of a pink metal robot man standing in the water — Melting Man by Ajay ThomasPhotograph: SWELL Sculpture Festival
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