Swell Sculpture Festival

Currumbin Beach

Swell Sculpture Festival

SWELL Sculpture Festival (SWELL) is a multifaceted, not-for-profit arts organisation based in Currumbin, Gold Coast, Queensland. Each year, SWELL transforms coastal landscapes into expansive outdoor galleries, offering large-scale public art experiences that connect people, art, and place. Through its major annual festival and a growing suite of year-round programs, SWELL invites audiences from all walks of life to experience art in engaging and accessible ways—across beaches, parks, galleries, and public spaces.

Treasure

Collaboration with Tessa Bergan

The word TREASURE emerges from the sand. A barricade and safety cones section it off from the surrounding beach. The scene appears as an archaeological dig site or work zone, with the word as the object of interest. The barricade and cones imbue the object with a sense of importance or danger, while the word cheekily proclaims its own value. However, the abstract nature of text makes us question if the treasure is the object itself, the environment it sits in, or the audience’s projection of meaning.