Queensland’s biggest open-air art show, Swell is celebrating 21 years in 2023.

“We’ve come of age,” said co-founder and artistic director Natasha Edwards.

Edwards received a record number of entries this year and 80 large-scale sculptures will be installed along a one-kilometre stretch of the beach.

“The coastal landscape provides an ideal backdrop for sculptures,” Edwards said.

Newton’s piece, Storm Herald, is a black cockatoo four metres high, three metres long and 2.5 metres wide that weighs a quarter of a tonne.

“I’m partial to native parrots. I don’t have co-workers – what I do is offensively loud – so I don’t chat to anyone, but usually at the end of the day, the storm clouds are coming, you see these black cockatoos,” Newton said.

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“I can’t draw to save my life but I can make something beautiful out of a chunk of wood that was going to be wood chips.”

As well as the main exhibition at Currumbin, the festival this year includes art installations on Chevron Island, at Helensvale Cultural Centre, Pacific Fair, Gold Coast Airport and Oasis Shopping Centre.

There are also kids’ activities, concerts, workshops and artists’ panels.

Artists are competing for $40,000 in cash awards and bursaries.

Swell Sculpture Festival 2023 runs from September 8 to 17. See the full program here.