Silvio Apponyi Exhibition: with Ali Carle in the Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia

Sylvio Apponyi's work provides a sculptural backdrop for many South Aussies at play. In the main street of Kingscote on Kangaroo Island there's a reminder of the seals you'll see around so much of our spectacular coastline. And on the Fleurieu Peninsula, the nightly pilgrimage of penguins to their burrows on Granite Island is captured in bronze. At Burnside Village, there's another meeting with nature in the form of a bronze frog.

But perhaps Sylvio Apponyi's best known sculpture is the whale tail, which forms the centrepiece of the public foreshore area at Victor Harbor. It celebrates another major event on the state's natural history calendar - the annual migration of these giants.

When you study Sylvio's work in detail you soon appreciate his passion for Australian wildlife. "I love wildlife," says Sylvio. "I travel in the country a lot. You see birds in the trees, platypus swimming in the creeks. You just fall in love with them."

Most days you'll find him in his shed at Balhannah. He was working on a sculpture of a squid when we visited and Sylvio's affinity for wood soon became apparent. Years ago while whittling away at a piece of timber, his gift as a sculptor began to reveal itself in much the same way that marine creatures take shape under his meticulous patience and care.

It took three weeks to carve the wooden squid. Next step is to make a wax mould similar to the one he's already made for a bilby piece.

"The bilby is prey to lots of other animals," he said. "They've been nearly cleaned up by foxes and cats and their best defence is flight. This posture is of a bilby thinking am I gonna go stay or am I not gonna go?"

If you've seen them under spotlight at night you'll know just how effectively Sylvio has captured the flighty nature of this nocturnal animal with it strange pink ears and long tail. Sadly, like so many other Australian animals, the bilby's hold on long-term survival as a species is in doubt.

"I think there's so much happening with climate change that it's likely that some of the animals we're seeing these days won't be around much longer. So I'm trying to record them."

Sylvio's focus is always on capturing the essence of each animal. "I think if you put love and integrity into your work it comes through. People are finely attuned to love. A baby knows if its mother loves it or not. People spend their whole lives being finely attuned to an expression of love and if they see love has gone into a work they can tune into that and relate to that."

View Sylvio's pieces at David Dridan's Gallery in the Hardy's Winery complex at McLaren Vale and his love for his subjects is obvious.

"I think Sylvio is one of Australia's greatest living natural history sculptors in all mediums,' said David. "He has an enthusiasm and he's incredibly competent in whatever material he works in whether it's stone or clay or rock or wood or bronze, he's just a master at it.

You can see for yourself at Dridan Fine Arts or in the public works scattered throughout the Adelaide Zoo.

With so many public commissions on show throughout Adelaide and the State, South Australians can count themselves lucky. However an exhibition of his work will be on show at Dridan Fine Arts in May at McLaren Vale. For those who might want their own Apponyi masterpiece then contact the sculptor at his studio on 0418 852 248.

Silvio Apponyi Exhibition
Dridan Fine Arts
Hardy's Tintara Winery
Main Street
McLaren Vale
For commission Phone 0418 852 248

Published 18th Feb 2007