Bega Valley artist Richard Moffatt is coming back into the realm of sculpture professionally after a seven-year break due to work and family commitments.
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He has always had a passion for sculpting with metal and continued to tinker in his spare time, but said he is once again working on commissions and creating full time.
Mr Moffatt will be featuring a kinetic piece in the upcoming annual Sculpture Bermagui from March 6-14.
The nine-day exhibition is held in two places - the outdoor sculptures will be featured at Dickinson Point headland and foreshore overlooking Horseshoe Bay and Mount Gulaga, and the indoor works in the Bermagui Surf Club.
The exhibitions will feature a range of works with a total of 140 sculptures coming from across the nation and overseas.
Although there is no set theme, many artists focus on a nature based theme with recycled materials.
It is this very theme that Mr Moffatt is also interested in. His piece is wholly about wind interaction and trees on our coastlines.
Mr Moffat said the shape of the tree within the circle is that of a weather-beaten tree.
"Trees on the coast are fascinating, when you observe trees growing right in the foreshore of the ocean, the ones that are right at the frontline they're just so tortured by the wind and the environment," he said.
Mr Moffatt is fascinated by the ways the trees manifest the environment in which they grow.
He explained that the tree enclosed by the circle symbolised our planet and the other circle symbolised the sun, as they orbit around the metal central support.
"The tree really represents the planet and how important trees and nature are so there's elements of the environment and our world. How everything is interlinked and connected," he said.
Mr Moffatt has spent his life working with metal and has been making sculptures for around 25 years.
With his return to sculpturing he has found himself rekindling his enthusiasm and passion for the material to which he feels so strongly connected.
"As a metal worker, when you work with a material for a very long time you have an intimate relationship with the material and a deep understanding of its possibilities."
Mr Moffatt has been involved in the Bermagui exhibition since it first started 15 years ago.
Over the course of the years he has won different prizes, including the council's acquisitive prize for his "The Giving Tree" sculpture, which now adorns Eden's main street.
The annual exhibition features a range of prizes and awards from local businesses ranging from $500-$10,000.
Sculpture Bermagui opens Friday night with an invitation-only preview at the Bermagui Surf Club and then runs daily until March 14. People's Choice awards will be presented on March 14.
Full list of featured artists and prizes available can be found on the Sculpture Bermagui website.
