Story Tella.
I saw this sculpture a couple of days ago on a morning walk with Edward. There’s something both ancient and futuristic about it. The playful title made it easy to imagine an ancient, space-faring race visiting Earth to share stories before quietly moving on.
It reminded me how much of what we do, in art, design, and life, is really just storytelling. We build things to make sense of the world and to leave something behind, even if we don’t always realise it at the time. I’m not sure why this piece made me think so much, but I’m glad it did.
About the artist
'The Story Tella' was inspired by drawings of a rock escarpment outside Alice Springs, where Johns observed images of encased ‘figures’. Shortly after, he discovered that Namatjira had painted the same escarpment. The work reflects the idea of the landscape profoundly ‘speaking’ to the viewer.
Johns has been a full-time sculptor for 50 years, with over 100 major public art commissions and numerous solo exhibitions. He received the McClelland Museum Sculpture Prize (2012) and the Helen Lempriere Scholarship (2023). This marks his 14th exhibition at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi.
