Artwork puts focus on violence against women as Bondi's Sculpture by the Sea marks 30 years
Artists Philippa Lysaght and Omi McCurdie have installed a sculpture titled 'Sweethearts' at Bondi's Sculpture by the Sea to highlight domestic violence. The work features hand-polished concrete hearts etched with phrases that minimize or excuse violence against women.
Why it matters
Public art installations serve as powerful tools for social advocacy, bringing awareness to systemic issues like domestic violence in high-traffic cultural spaces.
Philippa Lysaght (left) and Omi McCurdie's Sweethearts installation represents the women who have been killed by their former or current partner this year. ( ABC News: Adam Griffiths )
Link copied Share Share article Decade-long friends Philippa Lysaght and Omi McCurdie spent last Thursday hauling dozens of concrete hearts around a park in the pouring rain.
"Not just a little bit of rain, a lot of rain and concrete gets very slippery when wet," Ms McCurdie said.
"So we were kind of slipping and sliding around here."
It was the final task to bring to life a project the pair hoped would create long-lasting change for victims of domestic violence.
The hand-polished concrete hearts, entitled Sweethearts, stand at Marks Park between Sydney's Bondi and Tamarama beaches as part of this year's Sculpture by the Sea.
The hand-polished concrete hearts are at Marks Park. ( ABC News )
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