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‘Semicircular Space’
This gorgeous installation by Berlin-based, Danish contemporary artist Jeppe Hein is just one of the many artworks on the 16-acre outdoor sculpture park within the Pt. Leo Estate vineyard.
Who could resist? A hatted restaurant set in a vineyard with its own sculpture park!
Mornington Peninsula, just an hour south of Central Melbourne in Australia, is a sensory feast. Although the whole government area is technically part of Metropolitan Melbourne, with its charming coastal villages and spectacularly wild coastline, and with its boutique farms and vineyards serving up seasonal produce and pairing menus in their own restaurants, you could be in another world.
The region’s tourism authority has produced a user-friendly map chock full of activities, sights, food, drink, arts, and retail, and I certainly had no difficulty filling the six days I had staying there (eg: Weekly Wanders Mornington). My biggest problem was making sure I didn’t eat and drink too much and have to roll home!
A visit to the Pt Leo Estate and Sculpture Park – and lunch at the restaurant there – was high on my list. Apparently, ‘Vine Art’ is a thing – a global movement – and this sculpture park, in its glorious ocean-front setting, has a well-deserved place.
Of course, this is the kind of project that requires broad vision and deep pockets! In late 2017, the local Shopping-Centre billionaire Gandel family opened up part of their 135 hectare (334 acre) estate on the south coast of Mornington Peninsula to the public: this included a fine dining restaurant and winery cellar door, and 50 or so world-class, large-scale contemporary art works that they had collected over the five years prior (see: Sculpture among the Vines).
Thanks to Covid restrictions at the restaurant, I only managed to book in there on my final full day in the region. Talk about saving the best for last! It was a win-win, really.
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Naked Vines
The trimmed-back vines on the Pt Leo Estate stretch out into the distance under a wintery sky.
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View from my Table
I don’t remember what I ate: I do remember it was excellent – as was the local wine I enjoyed. From my table, I could see the giant pop installation by New York-based KAWS, aka Brian Donnelly, and the red Vega abstract by Australian Lenton Parr. In the distance, across the water, is Phillip Island.
Pt Leo Estate
There is a small admission fee to enter the sculpture park: worth it, I thought, to better enjoy them, and to work off the extra wine at lunch! Australian Deborah Halpern’s colourful Portal to Another Time and Place stands to the right.
Lynn Chadwick: Jubilee IV
British sculptor Lynn Chadwick’s Jubilee Walking Figures in bronze are quite well known. Although the one on the left is male, they made me think of Margaret Atwood’s Handmaidens.
Michael Le Grand : Tsunami (1988)
I love how the naked trees slope down to meet the rising waves of blue metal.
Winter Vineyard
Meanwhile, the winter vines curve off around the landscape.
Big Boy (2016)
Part of the ‘People I saw but never met’ series, this sculpture by Yemen-born, London-based artist Zadok Ben David looks three-dimensional because of the way it is cut from a single sheet of corten steel.
To the Centre (2000)
Australian sculptor Greg Johns’ twisting metal sculpture changes shape as you move around it. Here, it frames one of the Angus cows in the next paddock.
Peter Tilley : Dreams of Ordinary People (2010)
This was one of my favourites, both for its simple, lyrical lines and its evocative form. The sculptor himself says of it that is “Imagining a voyage through time: a journey through life’s obstacles.”
Peter Blizzard : Reflected Moon (2009)
Australian sculptor Peter Blizzard draws his inspiration from his local environment, and his artistic influence from Japanese art and its reverence for nature.
Anthony Pryor : Horizons (2011)
While art critics see stairway, cloud, and rainbow motifs in this painted steel and bronze work by Australian sculptor Pyor, I see a praying mantis!
Jeppe Hein : Semicircular Mirror Labyrinth (2015)
This beautiful arc of stainless steel and aluminium colonnades has been called reminiscent of a classical temple. I loved it – and enjoyed working with my own reflection to create a selfie.
Private poetry (2010) by Richard Tipping
Australian visual poet and word sculptor Tipping is known for his ironic adaptations of official signs; it took me two readings to catch this one!
Peter Blizzard – Ancient Range Floating (2003)
The title of this work is meant to refer to the upper section of rock: said to be sourced from an ancient mountain range. Again, I am too literal! I see a sheep.
Andrew Rogers : Rise 1 (2010)
This is another of my favourites; I loved how this work changed from every angle.
Les Kossatz : Laban’s Seal III (1983)
Australian printmaker and sculptor Les Kossatz once nursed an injured sheep; …
Detail: Les Kossatz : Laban’s Seal III
… the sheep motif in his work references this, as well as signifying the spirit of Australia. The title alludes to an Old Testament bible story about Laban ‘the Aramean‘.
Robert Hague : West Orbis (2009)
New Zealand-born artist Hague is known for work ranging from highly realistic representations to the kind of ‘lyrical abstraction’ we see here.
Skeleton Trees against a Winter Sky
Barry Flanagan : Drummer (1986)
Welsh-born Barry Flanagan is known for his monumental bronze hares; this drummer marches along on its hind legs. Thanks to popular culture, I can’t help but see Jar Jar Binks.
Geoffrey Bartlett : Nautilus Study with Three Legs (2011)
The nautilus shell is a ‘living fossil’; Bartlett says he attempts only to interpret nature – not to mimic it or improve on it. Certainly this tall sculpture commands attention: I took several pictures of it from different places around the park.
It was a wonderful wander, and a great way to work off some of my sumptuous lunch.
The park has a program of future acquisitions and a number of site-specific commissions in progress, so there are often new pieces to enjoy.
What a good excuse to go back one day!
Until then,
Happy Wandering!
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Pictures: 23June2021
