AS the sun rose over Mount Sturgeon on Saturday morning, people from near and far gathered at Dunkeld Consolidated School to watch the Skywhales launch into the morning sky.

After the ‘Skywhales: Every Heart Sings’ event was postponed from its original launch date of May 15, locals filled the school grounds to watch the two extraordinary sculptures designed by internationally renowned artist, Patricia Piccinini, float over the Grampians.
Hamilton Gallery artistic director, Joshua White, said the event was “indescribable through words” and an unbelievable success.
“The event was really fantastic, I think it was a once in a lifetime event for the community and the region,” he said.
“It’s something that will never happen again, we had such a good community turn out and we couldn’t have asked for better weather.
“Between the artist being there, the soundtrack, and the backdrop, it was unbelievable.”
Mr White said the turnout of the event was incredible, with Ms Piccinini blown away by the community support and positive feedback from attendees.
“We had people come from Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney to see the launch from the Grampians,” he said.
“Patricia said it was one of the best and most unique launches that she’s ever been too, and she just thought the backdrop and the turnout was phenomenal.
“I think we packed out the entire oval and it was shoulder to shoulder.
“It was by far the biggest event I’ve been to while living in Hamilton and the Southern Grampians.”
Skywhale and Skywhalepapa were launched on the oval at Dunkeld Consolidated School before floating across the sky and landing at Hamilton Airport.
Mr White said the spectacle was not only enjoyed by those who attended the school for the launch, but also by locals who witnessed the sculptures gliding across the sky from their homes.
“They flew over a large number of homes, so we’ve received footage of people sitting in their backyard seeing these two massive Skywhales float by,” he said.
“We’ve had lots of phone calls, text messages, emails, and people coming into the gallery saying it was absolutely amazing to see.”
Mr White said he wanted to thank the National Gallery of Australia, Ms Piccinini, the Hamilton Gallery and Performing Arts Centre team, the Southern Grampians Shire Council, and most importantly the community for making the event so successful.
With more projects in the works, Mr White said the launch of the Skywhales encapsulated the philosophy he adopted when starting his role at Hamilton Gallery, which was to take art outside the four walls of the Gallery.
“My philosophy was to go beyond the Gallery walls, and I think this event has really shown that and brought art to the people, instead of getting the people to come to the art,” he said.