Swell Sculpture Festival opens this Friday the 13th and runs days and nights through to the 22nd of September on Currumbin Beach. Sculptures of all shapes and sizes by over 50 Australian and international artists are installed on the beach for people to weave their way through each piece of work soaking up the creative vibe as they go.
Two Byron Bay based artists Jules Hunt and Dave Hickson are exhibiting at Swell. We decided to send them a Q & A to find out what makes them tick in the lead up to the Festival.
DAVE HICKSON
A bit about you – where you grew up etc etc ?
I grew up just outside Christchurch, New Zealand, in a small beachside town, Sumner – which is about the size of Byron.
I spent two years going to school in Singapore, but otherwise I lived in Christchurch until my mid-twenties when I moved to Sydney.
The art history teacher at my high school was a gallery owner called Jonathan Smart and he introduced the history of art in a really fascinating way. There were also a couple of well-known sculptors around Christchurch at the time, Neil Dawson and Ralph Hotere.
What’s your biggest influence?
The biggest influences on my work are probably the landscape and architecture – both the natural and the built environments.
What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
Happiness is snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef or kayaking on the ocean or swimming in a mountain stream.
Which living person do you most admire & why?
I admire people who give themselves completely to something they feel strongly about, like Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd. I also admire people who suffer great adversity but still make the most of their lives. And I admire my parents for those reasons too.
What’s your greatest extravangance?
Travel. We travel quite a bit. We just got back from a week in the Daintree and Cape Tribulation. Last year we were in Spain and America. In a couple of months we are off to Tasmania.
What do you most value in your friends?
Humour, passion and altruism.
What is your favourite memory?
Standing in Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona. I had seen many pictures of this building at art school and to be finally standing in the middle of it was a real thrill.
What is your greatest passion outside of art?
Being in or on the ocean.
Why sculpture?
I studied at the National Art School in Sydney and although I enjoyed all disciplines of art making, I most liked the Sculpture Department – there were some very good teachers there.
I also love photography, but sculpture seemed to be the most broad of the arts, it encompasses so many different mediums. It’s very democratic in that sense – almost anything goes.
The importance of art in our society is?
Art forms of all kind add the colour to our society. They provide an opportunity for each of us to learn about other members of our community or world, and in so doing enrich our outlook and deepen our understanding of society and culture.
What’s your motto?
80% of success is just turning up.
What is your favourite thing to do in Byron Bay?
To do the 2 kilometre swim from Wategos beach to the Byron Surf Club.
Tell us something quirky that you do that you are happy to share?
I catch spiders in our house with a Tupperware container and a record cover, then let them go in the garden – it always gets a laugh from visitors.
 JULES HUNTÂ
A bit about you – where you grew up etc etc ? I grew up in Sydney and moved to Byron 6 years ago. For as long as I can remember I have been creative and living in such a beautiful part of the world has inspired my creativity.
What’s your biggest influence?  I am truly inspired and in awe of the colours, geometry and nature that surrounds us all & feel that the creative possibilities are endless in any medium.
What’s your idea of perfect happiness? Sunday lunch with my partner Chris and my children Lachie and Rosie.
Which living person do you most admire & why? My 96 year old granny Cynthia. She is loving, worldly, intelligent and independant. I am astounded how she continues to absorb(and retain) knowledge everyday of her life.
What’s your greatest extravangance? Crab or duck.
What do you most value in your friends? Love, friendship, genuineness,and kindness.
What is your favourite memory? Watching my children walk hand in hand along the beach when they were two and three years old on my partners Birthday- very sweet.
What is your greatest passion outside of art? Music
Why sculpture? To explore creativity at a different scale- there are no boundaries.
The importance of art in our society is? Creativity is such an integral part of the Byron community and it is celebrated in so many ways; festivals, exhibitions, shows, people in Byron immerse in it all. Without the arts Byron Bay would not be the incredible place it is.
What’s your motto? So many ideas so little time. Another day in Paradise.
What is your favourite thing to do in Byron Bay? Go for a walk on the beach with my family and dogs.
Tell us something quirky that you do that you are happy to share? I have over 250 snowdomes, I love them, I love kitsch.