LAKE BALLARD AND THE MOST ISOLATED ART IN THE WORLD

Lake Ballard is 800km away from Western Australia’s capital of Perth. It is roughly a 9h drive to get there. The lake is 10 sq km and it is ephemeral, meaning that it remains flooded for a short period of time during a year.

The lake has 7 dotted islands, or I’d call them hills. Local aboriginal people tell the story of the Seven Sisters (Pleiades constellation) that were travelling across the night sky and saw the glittering white surface of the Lake Ballard. They went down to play on the Lake when a man appeared and started chasing them. The sisters fled, so the landscape of the Ballard Lake represents each of them and the sites where they were hiding. The largest island near the camping ground is said to be the eldest of the sisters. The Lake is a sacred place to Wongi/Wangkatha people.

It is possible to climb the islands, I climbed an ‘eldest sister’, the view that opens up from the hill is truly mystical! Fifty-one handmade black steel sculptures by British Artist Sir Antony Gormley are spread all around the lake and represent three-dimensional body scans of volunteers from the nearby town, Menzies. Local metals were used to create a blend for sculptures. Apparently, it cost AUD 650 000 to manufacture the installation.

It takes about 4 hours to see all 51 installations. They cannot all be seen from one spot. But the footprints left from previous travellers would lead the way to discover all of them. Aerial views give it another charms- it looks like a spiderweb made out of sculptures in the middle and net formed by human footprints.

Although the installation was supposed to be temporary, Gormley made it permanent and gifted it to Western Australia for $1.

Lake Ballard is definitely a unique and spiritual place to visit. It is great for adventure and photography!