Revisiting Lake Ballard

The welcoming party - the first of 51 sculptures by Antony Gormley to greet you on Lake Ballard

In 2003, to mark the Perth International Arts Festival’s 50th anniversary, renowned artist Antony Gormley created 51 sculptures which were installed on Lake Ballard. I’d read a lot about it at the time and dreamt of seeing them for myself, but an hour or two north of Kalgoorlie, Lake Ballard isn’t really on the way to anywhere else…you really have to make an effort to get there.

I finally got to Lake Ballard in 2010 and walking out onto the salt lake, I had that feeling that I was meeting people for the first time that I’d heard so much about from a mutual friend.

During our six month meander around WA, we’ve tried to explore the backroads and visit new places, and one of those backroads took us right back past Lake Ballard. This time it felt like we were catching up with old friends as we strolled around in the late afternoon light, reacquainting ourselves with everyone.