HOT GIRL WALKS Here’s your first look into this year’s Sculpture by the Sea exhibition

Bondi’s most photogenic annual gridlock is back.

That’s right, the 27th edition of Sculpture by the Sea has officially landed after a recent (and controversial) near underfunding scare. And yet, thanks to NRMA and the community, it’s back to transform the coastal walk from Bondi to Tamarama into a seaside art crawl that’s equal parts breathtaking and deeply inconvenient.

Running from Friday 17 October to Monday 3 November, it remains the world’s largest free outdoor sculpture exhibition. And of course, Sydney’s favourite excuse to wear activewear in public for culture’s sake.

Over 90 sculptures from 13 countries are dotted along the cliffs this year, including works from Japan, Denmark, China and India. Thirty-six artists are showing for the first time, with 64 Aussies in the mix. All valiantly proving once again that lugging metal up a hill is, in fact, a valid creative pursuit.

This year’s $70,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award goes to James Rogers for Siren’s Song. The Walcha-based sculptor has now exhibited here 20 times, including the very first show back in 1997. So it’s a real full-circle moment for a man who’s probably welded half of NSW by now.

And while you’re admiring the art, you’ll also clock the unofficial lineup: runners pretending not to look, ladies who brunch as they power-walk off their mimosas, and the chronically hungover attempting to atone for Saturday night through scenic suffering. Add a swarm of Lululemon and at least one influencer doing yoga next to a metal dolphin, and you’ve got your annual Bondi renaissance.

And if you’re looking for a little sneak peek of what’s to come, scroll down to check out some of our favourite highlights from this year’s exhibition.