McClelland Gallery Sculpture Garden Stroll - July 2022

It's been many years since Sam and I have visited McClelland Gallery, which is a little strange really as it's only ten minutes from home. With a couple hours to spare on this Friday afternoon we decided to rectify that situation and head in for a look. After paying the $6 entry fee we parked the ute and set off to see what we'd been missing, initially heading into the gallery itself to check out the visiting exhibition by Fiona Foley. 

There was a fairly confronting and thought provoking exhibition by indigenous artist Fiona Foley in the main gallery. 

After checking out the gallery we set off to explore the sculpture gardens. 

I'd managed to rope Sam in on this little adventure.

Once back outside in the gardens I fired up the Alltrails App and we set off to explore the sculpture gardens. To be honest it's really just a matter of wandering around the gardens and making things up a bit as you go here. We'd grabbed the visitor guide when we'd come in, so armed with that map we were able to identify and the art and more or less follow the path on the map. Initially though we set off around the ornamental lake in front of the gallery, checking out a few pieces of art along the way, the most notable of which (for me) was the Tree of Life by Phil Price which is otherwise known as the Peninsula Link Tree.

Alright... I need to throw in a bit of a disclaimer here. I've lost the brochure that named the different pieces of art so this post is going to really just a photo dump that will remind me of my visit.

The Peninsula Link Tree.

I'm thinking that the gardens would make a nice spot of a picnic.

It took me awhile to realise that this wasn't just another installation.

After passing by the Tree of Life, Sam and I headed around the back of the gallery building (the west side) and started around the path that visits the majority of the works here. The route that we were now following headed into bushland near the western extremity of the grounds with the art works liberally scattered through the scrub. After crossing a dry gully near a dam we slowly started to make our way back towards the gallery passing by 'The king is dead, long liver the king' by Dean Colls - another Peninsula Link piece. After making our way back to the lake outside the gallery I re-set the app and we  headed off home after a pleasant little outing.

I'm thinking that children may like this place. 

Another Peninsula Link refugee - The King is Dead.

The Dirt.

This is a very easy stroll, according to the Alltrails App we walked around 1.8 kilometres and climbed about 23 metres. This really isn't a walk as such, its more an experience, there are many options to shorten or lengthen the stroll. The gallery features visiting exhibitions and is worth checking out, there is a nice café on site and the grounds would also be suitable for a picnic I'm thinking. When we visited there was a $6 entry fee. There is a version of this walk on Alltrails although really the best bet is just to use the visitor information guide that they give you when you enter the grounds. 

Relevant Posts.

Little Boggy Creek Walk, 2021.

This is the original McClellend Gallery.