Sculptures

Wiradjuri Story Poles | West (2022)

MATERIALS Bronze, Hardwood and Corten Steel
LOCATION Sir Francis Forbes Drive, Forbes NSW

Standing opposite the Forbes Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre, on the western side of Lake Forbes, are five story poles depicting key wildlife that are special to the Wiradjuri people.

These story poles finalise the Forbes Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre development project.

About the Sculptors

Brett Garling (Dubbo, NSW)

Brett Garling is widely known as ‘Mon’ to friends and collectors alike. ‘Mon’ is short for ‘Monster’ – a nickname gained at the age of five, due to his fascination for anatomy and collecting of bones and animal specimens. Born in Pambula, Mon’s work is influenced by his childhood in rural towns, such as, Lightning Ridge, Narrabri and Dubbo where his love of the bush and its characters were nurtured. Mon strives to find the presence and character in his subjects, breathing life into his work, transforming clay and paint into a vital living form.

Mon has had over forty group and solo exhibitions and is an exhibiting member of the Sculptors Society and The Australian Plein-Air Artists Group. As a multi award-winning artist and sculptor, Mon’s work is held in both private and corporate collections worldwide.

A fascination for the technical aspects of casting his sculptures in bronze led Mon to establish his own foundry in conjunction with his art gallery, Garling Gallery in 2004. This allowed him to have a permanent collection of both his paintings and sculpture on display.

Rosie Johnston (Forbes, NSW)

Rosie Johnston is renowned for her large-scale colourful abstract canvasses. Rosie is also the brainchild behind the Sculpture Down the Lachlan trail concept. Inspired by Sydney’s famous Sculptures by the Sea, in 2012 Rosie set about to lobby for funding to create a permanent, inland sculpture trail to generate tourism for our region and diversify the rural economy.

Scott Towney (Peak Hill, NSW)

Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney is a Wiradjuri artist from Peak Hill, NSW. Sauce specialises in drawing and pyrography. He creates art from an Indigenous perspective. He has been a finalist in the NSW Premier’s Indigenous Art Awards and has completed many commissions. Towney experiments with a variety of materials as a base for his contemporary style of Indigenous art. He has made a major contribution in his community by creating artwork that helps in the preservation of culture and symbols of the Wiradjuri nation. Towney has participated in an international residency at Ub Ubbo Exchange’s Cultural Centre in Sagada, northern Philippines.