SAM GOWING
Artist | Sculptor
Sculptures
After graduating in fine art in the eighties (Sydney) Sam participated in various group shows, exhibiting painting and sculptural works, and art installations exploring the fragility of self. Her keen interest in the environment, and love of the ocean and native wildlife, recently turned this focus outwards to the susceptibility of fellow creatures on this planet. She believes in the power of art within the environment, that it can be a subconscious influencer of our feelings about place, nature and sustainability. She replicates natural forms and creatures, often at a different scale or in an incongruous colour.
Here is a selection of recent works.
Unsung Pollinator
Unsung Pollinator celebrates the Mud Dauber wasp, a solitary native insect often overlooked despite its vital ecological role. Feeding on nectar and pollen, it supports pollination while helping regulate insect populations. The sculpture is constructed from hand-bent aluminium tube and flat bar, welded and riveted into a linear framework that echoes both skeletal structure and nest-building. Finished in my signature fluorescent yellow, the work acts as a visual alert, drawing attention to fragile ecosystems and the urgent need to protect native habitats.
2026 - Mount Tamborine Arts Trail - For sale $600 pair
Installation - easily stuck into the ground . Enquire within. Install fees and delivery extra.
Image credit - Jez Clarke.
Love and Survival
While riding through a local shopping centre carpark, I came across two bush stone-curlews—long-legged birds with knees that bend opposite to humans. Known for their eerie, childlike wails, these birds typically mate for life. I was intrigued by these birds and stopped and got photos to research them more. On another more recent trip, I came across a fluro fenced off area with a sign saying “Please give our Curlews some space” and inside sat on some eggs was one of the curlews, whilst the partner stood nearby keeping watch, this vivid moment inspired my work, so using neon colours and lighting I aim to reflect the tension between the birds’ natural instincts and the encroaching urban landscape. As their natural habitats are shrinking, these resilient birds adapt, embodying survival in the face of humanity’s changing environment.
2025 - Swell Sculpture Festival - NFS
Installation - can be ground footed, or set in concrete. Enquire within. Install fees and delivery extra.
Heading Home
For thousands of years, people have watched the migration and return of humpback whales along this stretch of the Pacific. These magnificent mammals make a long and arduous journey along the eastern coastline, starting from their home in the Antarctic all the way up to the warm waters of Harvey Bay where the mothers give birth to their calves. The calves use the warmer waters to gain fat and learn whale behaviours before they make their long journey home. Heading Home was created using lightweight aluminium metal and coated in a luscious blue reminiscent of the ocean’s rich hues.
2024 - Brunswick Nature Sculpture Walk - For sale $8,000
Installation - can be ground footed or suspended from ceiling or on wall. Enquire within. Install fees and delivery extra.
Mates for life
With its predominantly white plumage, a bare, black head, a long down-curved bill, and black legs, Threskiornis molucca is no bird of paradise, but Sam has always had a soft spot for these prehistoric-looking creatures. Known as the ‘Sacred Ibis’, the derogatory name of ‘Bin Chicken’ disturbs her. She wants us to look again at this monogamous bird, one the Egyptians saw as the god of the moon, the master of knowledge and patron of scribes, and rather than seeing it as a pest, to see it as a loyal and sincere friend, illuminating our wasteful ways.
2024 - Brunswick Nature Sculpture Walk - SOLD Private
Commissions available, enquire within.
Buzzing Beneficiaries
Sam has a phobia – a morbid fear of maggots! But her deep-seated desire to find the good in every living creature led her to look at the quintessential Aussie blowfly, the most annoying little buzz-head around. It might not be the most heroic of insects, but the mighty Calliphora stygia and its offspring (those dastardly maggots!) ought to be thanked for a multitude of reasons. As voracious colonisers they are hugely important to pollination, to nutrient recycling, and to cleaning up unused organic matter and all dead things. So let's pop them on a rock and paint them ultra saturate blue! Let's celebrate those artful little buggers!
2024 - SWELL Sculpture Festival - For sale $2,000 (1 available)
Installation, can be hung on a wall or suspended from a ceiling. Enquire within. Install fees and delivery extra.
Basking in the Sun
Eastern Water Dragons
On Sam's first day on the Gold Coast, she walked to the top of Burleigh Hill
(Jellurgal), where she felt something touch her big toe. It was a dragon’s
welcome to her new home, and the moment she fell in love with these
beautiful prehistoric lizards. She loves their stillness, the way they pose like
statues, calm against the ever-changing waters, stoic and hopeful
symbols of endurance in an uncertain world. She hopes you feel their quiet
power and strength while remembering the fragility of their environment.
2023 - SWELL Sculpture Festival - SOLD 2 pairs - Gold Coast Airport and Esprit de vie
Whales Playground
This whale was part of a piece called "Whales Playground", my love of whales inspired this piece as I spend hours watching whales during the migration season.
2021 - SWELL Sculpture Festival and 2023 Sculptures on the Edge - Whale SOLD Whale Tail $300, Whale Fin $250 install and shipping extra.