
Just outside of Melbourne in Victoria hidden in Mount
Dandenong you can find William Ricketts Sanctuary.
In between tall trees and ferns he has created the most spectacular and very
unusual sculptures. William Ricketts was fascinated by the Aboriginal people
of Australia. But before starting his lifetime work here he travelled to meet
some of the Aboriginals and to spend some time with them. Soon he was accepted
into their community. He digussed his plans with the Elders and .got
their permission.
in a tiny hud with his mother he started to create his unusal sculptures.
A novell idea was that he used boulders and large rocks to support his sculptures.
Bodies seem to just grow out of them or and limbs through them. William Ricketts
has died put his work will be there for a long time. Before his death he made
a recording explaining his work and it is this recording that makes it so
special here. After listening to it you can understand his idea of creating
all this and you become part of it.
Left : The reception area which houses a gallery of his paintings
Right : A self portrait ( The sculpture shows an aboriginee with wings comforting him when he was younger)
Left : The start
Right : An Elder comforting a child whose arm is reaching through the rock
Left : Mother and two children with possoms unlooking
Right : This seems to some sort of a shrine
Left : This huge sculpture looks like the one used in his painting
Right : Childrens heads looking out from the inside of a rock
Left : A little fountain complements this sculpture of young children
Right : This was Ricketts modest home