Installed late last year in front of Lowesdale Public School, the sculpture was officially launched on Wednesday, March 27 by Federation Council Mayor Pat Bourke.
Artist Andrew Whitehead was commissioned by Federation Council in 2018 to create a life-size replica of a shearer using blade shears to shear a curly horned ram, inspired by the famous Tom Roberts Shearing of the Rams painting.
The iconic Shearing of the Rams painting is based on a number of preliminary sketches Roberts completed on the spot at Brocklesby Station near Corowa in the late spring of 1888.
A permanent connection between the school’s 24 students of 2018 and the school’s general assistant for over 30 years, Terry Sharp, and the impressive sculpture exists.
As part of the commission the artist met with the students from Lowesdale Public School last year requesting each student collect and donate an old cast iron cog to the project.
The initials of students were then carved into their cog before the artist included them in the fleece of the ram in the sculpture.
“Andrew gave an informative talk, explaining to the children how he made the sculpture,” school principal since 2008 Barbara Strachan told The Free Press. “It’s a high quality result.”
A former shearer himself, the mayor quizzed students about shearing. “I was impressed with their knowledge and answers,” Mayor Bourke said. “This sculpture is a wonderful piece of work and the whole trail of sculpturing in the Federation Council area by Andrew is excellent.”
Andrew is a scrap metal sculptor specialising in recycled large figurative artworks and attended his shearing sculpture launch.
He has created ten public artworks and many private commissions including ‘Swagman & Dog’ at Boree Creek, ‘Not so Itsy’ the giant spider at Urana, Morundah’s ‘Toolbox & Jockey,’ and the ‘Savannah Goanna’ recently installed at Urana.
Andrew’s sculptures are largely made from recycled metal, offcuts, old tools, bearings, nuts and bolts, and hand forged objects.
Also in attendance at the official launch were councillors and staff of Federation Council and, of course, students and teachers from Lowesdale Public School.