Ogilvy Sydney creative Simon McGrath wins $10k environment prize for ‘Who left the tap running?’ concept at Sculpture by the Sea exhibition

It was McGrath’s first work to be shown in the exhibition; the giant fibreglass sculpture of a set of bathroom taps positioned looking out over a cliff to the ocean, was entitled ‘Who left the tap running?’ and has won him a $10,000 prize.

Says McGrath: “A majority of scientists say global warming is real and that the sea level is rising because of it. By placing a giant set of taps off the cliff at Bondi, my work turns the ocean into a giant sink. Through its title it poses the question, who is responsible for the water level coming up? I think we all have some part to play. And I’ve tried to use a bit of humour to try and sneak under peoples’ radar and to get them thinking this one through. Maybe they’ll even come to accept some responsibility and do something about this issue.”

The Sculpture by the Sea showing and Sydney Water and Environmental Prize mark yet another highlight in McGrath’s 2011, having also been a finalist this year in The Blake Prize, with his work ‘The Body and the Blood‘ and the prestigious Mosman Art Prize and highly competitive Brunswick Street Gallery Art Prize.