Waroona artists take to the shore with sculptures featured at Rockingham’s Castaways exhibition

Two of Waroona’s most unique sculpture artists have their work on display at one of WA’s most prestigious art exhibitions.

The works of Carmen Tyler and Mike Walmsley have taken to the sandy shores of Rockingham foreshore as part of this year’s Castaways exhibition.

Walmsley’s colossal cockatoo can be found on the beach, while Tyler’s unique euclay sculpture is on show in Rockingham Arts Centre.

Between his role as Waroona shire president, Walmsley has been dabbling in art for the past five years, making creations from any materials he is able to find around the farm.

His giant red-tailed cockatoo titled Is there any room left for us? is a mix of old pot plants, oil drums and parts of a jerry can.

“There’s all sorts of weirdness in there,” Walmsley said.

He said he took to crafting the sculptures after wanting to downsize from the hay sculptures he used to create.

“I don’t design them, it’s just kind of made,” Walmsley said.

“I just kind of put it together as it goes and cut off bits and pieces.

“I’ve only cut the top off my finger a couple of times trying to get them together, and there’s quite a lot of enjoyment seeing it all come together.”

Walmsley said he was inspired to build the sculpture seeing the cockatoos he finds around his block and becoming more aware of the struggles the iconic bird is currently facing.

Tyler is one of Waroona’s most prolific artists and this exhibition is just a part of her growing artist resume.

Tyler said the piece she calls Rescue was a story of true persistence and innovation.

Her euclay is a secret mixture containing ground-up eucalyptus leaves moulded into a range of different works, which she said was one of the truest forms of recycling.

Tyler said the piece on display in the exhibition initially broke as she was creating it, but instead of abandoning the work she pushed on.

“It was nothing, it was a piece that couldn’t be used for anything,” she said.

“I had these broken pieces and I rescued it, I made it beautiful.”

The Castaways exhibition officially opened on Saturday, with works sitting on the foreshore until Sunday.

Rockingham mayor Deb Hamblin encouraged families to make a day of it in the city and explore the range of art on display.

“We’re continuing the Castaways tradition this year of transforming Rockingham Beach into an artistic wonderland,” she said.