Carla Gottgens: The woman behind Shellharbour's newest whale

The southern whale migration may be coming to an end, but thanks to Naarm (Melbourne) artist Carla Gottgens' stunning new sculpture, the magic and playfulness of the huge marine mammals will live on as part of the Lake Illawarra Art Trail.

The sculpture features two whale tails, a subject particularly loved by local photographers. Located in Bardsley Park, Shellharbour, Long Distance encourages discovery, playfulness and exploration, something which Carla herself enjoys.

“I love adventure, the outdoors, hiking, seeking, exploring…” she said. “One enormous adventure I went on in May this year after years of planning was to visit the Arctic. We camped on the sea ice for a week and got to see polar bears, bowhead whales and the elusive narwhal. It was truly magical.”

Growing up on the east coast of Australia and spending much of her childhood at the beach, Carla was regularly reminded by her mother to never turn her back on the sea. For a child still smarting from her first wave dumping, it was good advice. However, as she got older Carla no longer found the ocean terrifying. It had transformed to a place of calm, where she could watch its shifting patterns as she flew her drone over it.

“So now when the words ‘Never turn your back on the sea’ come to me, I interpret those words a little differently," Carla said.

"Sure, there is still that fear of the sea and how unpredictable it is, but also if I turn my back on the sea I may miss a beautiful pattern or glimmer of light that is there for an instant and then gone, never to be repeated.”

This approach to her work, interpreting things a little differently, can be seen in her latest piece, Long Distance.

“The humpback whale was a natural choice [for Shellharbour] but how to make it different from every other whale-inspired artwork out there?" Carla said.

"I wanted to create a narrative that told the story of the humpback whale’s migration journey along the East Coast of Australia.  What better way to do this than incorporate my love of sea drone photography and bright, colourful sculpture.

“The art panels on the whale tails are a combination of photographs printed onto stainless steel and geometric illustrations I created that were inspired by people’s visualisation of sea swirls, waves and patterns."

Bringing a sculpture of this size to life is no easy feat.

Carla said, “There are so many people involved in the creation of a work like this, from the 3D CAD designer who made sense of my crude clay whale tails, to the fabricator who makes all of my work, to the painting company and the printers who did various tests to find the best approach to putting photos on the tails, the engineer who gave us many headaches, the concreters and landscapers, the council staff who oversaw the project.”

Long Distance isn't her only artwork in the Illawarra. Factions, a 2D digital design featuring a whimsical mash-up of human figures with animal heads can be found in Stockland Shellharbour along with Best in Show at the Albion Park Showgrounds.

And while Carla loved art and design in high school she didn't find it "effortless" like other students. She says now, "I wasn't mature enough to realise that artwork is what you create, you need to find your 'thing' and to ignore what everyone else is doing."

To follow Carla’s work and adventures, head to her Instagram account