Sculpture for Clyde winner Richard Moffatt finds beauty in the aged and natural patina of metal

Even the rust-covered sculptures that were purposely ageing and signified his property's location on the side of the country road, gave him the same attention, standing in unison and reflecting his environment.

Railroad nails overflowed from metal barrels, the anchor chain from a shipping vessel snaked its way over and on top of itself nestling against the barbed wire fence, and a mighty iron 19^th century riveted fuel tank that resembled texture like leather patchwork found shade under a set of trees.

Large round saw blades hung from the side of a tin shed workshop which housed his mother's turquoise couch, and a white wall sketched in pencil revealed the plans of an award-winning tree sculpture.

Yet his most recent win at Sculpture for Clyde was for an iconic piece titled: Weed. A sculpture known to many that drove through the large agricultural fields of Jellat flats to Bega or Tathra.

"That big twisty pipe sculpture that won the prize, I put it there [for a couple of years] basically to rust. I built it and I need it [to rust]," Richard said.

"The way I fabricate is welding different 90 degree bends together, and then I sand it and grind it back so it just looks like a continuous, smooth, singular piece.

"And all the different grind marks, weld marks, all rust and it becomes a consistent patina."

Creatively expressing himself through art has been something that Richard's family have continually done for decades; his father Ivor created timber sculptures, his mother Anthea Moffatt is an artist, his daughter Bodhi Turner is a singer-songwriter, and other relatives are animators, actors, musicians and poets.

"I bring creativity to building," Richard said.

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"Inspiration is something that is mixed in with the ideas of thoughts and creativity, and inspiration builds up.

"Weed didn't just pop out of the blue, it actually developed over 20 years of working with that material.

"I built that piece in 2017, but COVID came and we lost three years just with exhibitions. Another casualty of the creative industries suffering through COVID. Even artists like myself suffered immensely, not having any ability to show our work."

Richard said he was very grateful and really excited to have won Sculpture for Clyde, which returned to the Batemans Bay Foreshore in 2023.

His purpose for creating sculptures is to have them exhibited in public spaces, and each opportunity to create one of these pieces feels like a spot at the top of the podium to him.

"The goal is to create work that anyone can access. That's the most important thing for me," he said.

"I've got this ability to do stuff that wants to come out of me, and I don't want to hide that from the world, I want people to enjoy that.

"Being an artist, honestly, we're fringe dwellers, and we live on the edge, and we choose to live on the edge because that's where life is exciting, and that's the best part about it."