Gold Coast, Jan. 9 (NsNewsWire) — To celebrate local talent in the lead up to Festival 2018 we introduce you to the Gold Coast’s very own sculpture star Liam Hardy. Chances are you’ve already seen his famous bronze beauties around at some of South East Queensland’s most famous venues and now you can meet the man behind the work.

Tell us about yourself

I am a Sculptor and Creative industries business owner here on the Gold Coast. I’ve been working as a sculptor for over 22 years now and I’m still finding it very rewarding and challenging.

Every new project is different and we rarely make the same thing twice.

How long have you been a Gold Coast local and what is the best thing about living here?

I’ve been living on the Gold Coast for 23 years and definitely call it home. The best thing about living on the Coast is the variety of things to do and of course the people to do it with!

The local coastal and hinterland areas are so diverse. I have recently discovered the waterways, there’s endless places to explore by boat between here and Moreton Bay.

The other thing that makes living on the Coast unique is the interesting people you meet. It seems to attract people from all walks of life and talents. It’s definitely building up a dynamic culture.

How did you get into sculpting?

I come from an artistic family and knew I wanted to do something in the arts but I wasn’t sure what that was. I applied for jobs in companies as a trainee sculptor back in the days when everything was hand-carved. After a few months of trying I got lucky and someone gave me a start. I was on $10 an hour working my guts out and loving every second of it.

In the beginning I was doing basic theme park and display work when I was lucky enough to land a gig working for Disney in Japan for a year. After that I went onto film and television, props, FX prosthetic make-up, set building and public art bronze work before starting my own company.

What influence does living on the Gold Coast have on your work?

Probably the variety of work has influenced and exposed me to many different artistic and fabrication types and outcomes. Sport and entertainment has featured heavily, which is probably not surprising for the Gold Coast.

Tell us about some of your most recent sculptures

One of my recent bronze sculptures is the Laura Geitz statue at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. She was delightful to work with and so humble about the whole thing. Peter Wallis made a short documentary called Making Laura , which shows Laura going through the process of getting her bronze made.

This year I’m starting an ANZAC memorial for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women to recognise forgotten Indigenous soldiers from Australian conflicts. This is a long overdue memorial and I’m honoured to be a part of it.

It’s an honour to be able to contribute to the Queensland community with projects like this and help affect recognition and social inclusion of a part of Australian history that’s seldom talked about.

Where can your work be seen?

Suncorp Stadium has the Arthur Beetson Memorial and Mal Meninga Tribute statues. I’ve also been commissioned to do another one going in on the south end of the stadium this year but that’s still under wrap.

There’s also many sculptures at the Village Roadshow theme parks such as Seaworld’s Nickelodeon Land and Movie World DC Villains that have the kid’s favourite characters. I most recently finished ‘The Reef’ at Seaworld, which is a splash park for kids to cool off in the summer heat and play amongst ten new oversized ocean characters. It was lovely to see kids having a great time in environments I have helped to create.

Photo: Wally Lewis, Liam Hardy and Darren Lockyer with the Arthur Beetson memorial statue | Liam Hardy

As a Gold Coast local, what does it mean to you to have an international event like GC2018 hosted in our city?

It’s really good to see the Gold Coast recognised for being a world-class destination for an event like this. The city has so much going for it, it’s beauty, the lifestyle and people!

I’m grateful for the opportunities it has afforded me in my chosen creative industry. It’s exciting that the rest of the world will get to experience a small part of that.