LYN DI CIERO
Kim Perrier with his winning work, De-Vine.
Bridgetown artist Kim Perrier is the 2025 winner of the $10,000 non-acquisitive Castaways Major Award with De-Vine, a cast aluminium figure blending the human form with vines representing nature. Kim, who was working on his sculpture late into the night before install day, says it was a thankful surprise to win. “It’s always an honour to win a show like this,” he says, “but I think if anything, it’s just a nice ending to a lot of hard work.” Kim revealed his original casting had failed. “I had to start from scratch with a new model and recasting,” he says. “There was about two and a half weeks of full-time work to finish it, but I love letting a work run its own way. I find that stress really exhilarating.”
Kim describes himself as a ‘materiologist,’ a word he coined which has played a pivotal role in shaping his career. “I wholeheartedly recommend exploring this field,” he says. “Basically, when asked about my work, it’s often easier to list the materials I haven’t worked with; it’s a testament to how deeply I’ve immersed myself in this endeavour.”
It is the fifth time Kim has been selected as a finalist in Castaways. In three of those years, he has won the People’s Choice Award, last year winning jointly with another artist.
Born in Canada, in 1972 Kim received a scholarship and studied at the Vancouver School of Art in Canada. His family immigrated to New Zealand in 1975, and in 1978 he travelled to Australia, settling in Bridgetown. He has exhibited in New York, Japan, Asia and Europe, as well as at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi and Castaways. His work is represented in collections such as the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of WA, the Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and Northcliffe Understory Sculpture Park as well as numerous national and international private collections.
Coincidently Kim also held workshops this year with students at SMYL Community College in Rockingham, where his daughter Kemile Perrier, a teacher at SMYL, led the school’s entry in Castaways, which won the Castaways Secondary School Award.
Other winners at Castaways were Richard Aitken ($5,000 Sustainability Award), Damien Gavillet ($5,000 Innovation Award), Janice O’Meara ($2,500 Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition), Ben Veljacich ($2,000 Local Resident Award) and Settlers Primary School ($500 Primary School Award). Judges for the Schools Exhibition were educators Stephen Armistead and Paul Leeming. Judges for the Main Exhibition and the Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition were Audrey Fernandes-Satar and Johannes Pannekoek.
Castaways Sculpture Awards puts sparkle, creativity and crowds on the beach at Rockingham Foreshore, Churchill Park and Rockingham Arts Centre with artworks dreamed and conceived from repurposed materials.
Castaways is on show until Sunday 2 November.
People’s Choice voting remains open until 5pm Sunday 2 November, with all voters in the draw to win the $500 Fremantle Ports Voters Prize.
Damien Gavillet with his work, Orbital.
Richard Aitken with his work, No Junk Mail.
Janice O’Meara with her work, Frag-mented.
Photos courtesy City of Rockingham.
Ben Veljacich with his work, The Little Penguin.