Sculptures Outback exhibition in Roma unveils surprising talents, full

A sculpture festival in outback Queensland is unearthing hidden talents from surprising sources.

Kyle Mansfield is a baker and father of four from Mitchell, in south-west Queensland.

He's also a self-taught sculptor.

"I guess I like to build stuff with things that have no purpose anymore," Mansfield says.

"I feel like to create something, with something that's going to be thrown away, it brings new life to things."

Mansfield has most recently turned his hand to a full-scale metal sculpture of a saddle bronc rider called Real Steel.

"It's made out of horseshoes from local farriers in Roma," he says.

"I purchase used shoes off them and it could be anything from a Clydesdale to a pony to a racehorse, whatever — all different sizes and shapes."

Mansfield estimates the piece weighs over 500 kilograms and is a homage to two local rodeo riders.

"I was inspired by a couple of saddle bronc riders that are local to Mitchell," he says.

"Greg Hamilton — he was 2002 saddle bronc champion.

"And also Damian Brennan who went to America and finished 16th and won Rookie of the Year over there."

Mansfield worked on the sculpture for months totalling up to 600 hours.

"I try and do a little bit after work each day when I get into it," he says.

"But then, some days, I might be in the shed until eight o'clock at night, so I get a bit carried away and lose track of time."

Mansfield's sculpture is one of dozens now on display as part of the Sculptures Outback exhibition in Roma.

The sculptures are beside the banks of the Bungil Creek, right next to the road into Roma.

"I think it adds character," says Ian Galloway, president of the Sculptures Outback committee.

"We've got sculptures this time from Victoria as well as Atherton in north Queensland and west to Cunnamulla.

"So really they've come long distances."

Mr Galloway has been involved with the Roma on Bungil Art Gallery and had the idea for the outdoor "walk of art" exhibition.

"It's year three now, and it's been fantastic," he says.

"The beauty of what we've created here is that the works are being sold.

"People that have won prizes here, or even just had sculptures here [and] have ended up with commissions.

"The commissions that some of the people have had out of last year and the year before are just amazing."

The logistics involved in putting on an exhibition of this scale in the bush are staggering.

For Mansfield, transporting his art along the highway from Mitchell to Roma was slow and steady — and quite the spectacle.

He had an entourage that included a giant red kangaroo sculpture that he worked on with his son Blayk, as well as a metal ram that Blayk created on his own.

"It's a fun day to take it down [to Roma]," Mansfield says.

"You get plenty of looks and people trying to pull you over and point at you and call you up on the two-way [radio] and stuff."

Aside from the sculptures themselves, setting up the exhibits garners a lot of attention.

It takes many hands and many more pieces of heavy machinery.

"It just captures people," says Ann Galloway, a Sculptures Outback committee member.

"Once we start working on here for the installation, a lot of people stop even if they're not going to be here for the opening.

Ms Galloway says the sculptures appeal to everybody, with estimates of 44,600 people visiting last year.

"We get the traffic through to the Birdsville Races and the Big Bash out west," she says.

"From the littlest kids to people in wheelchairs or on walkers … the grey nomads are here in their hundreds."

This year, Mansfield's Real Steel won the People's Choice award and The Fossicker by Toowoomba artist Rod Buckland won the major prize.

Both pieces will now remain as part of a permanent sculpture park at the site beyond the exhibition's closure on September 16.

Mr Galloway is hopeful it's just the beginning of an even bigger outback art trail.

"There's a sculpture trail starting from maybe Goondiwindi through to Aramac," he says.

"It's great for the whole community."

Beyond the broader community benefits, the exhibition is advantageous for artists like Mansfield too.

"I know myself, owning a business, I don't have time to travel away to competitions and things like that," he says.

"To have that competition so close locally, it gives me the opportunity to create something to enter.

"I think without that opportunity, I probably wouldn't make anything.

"I'd come home from work and probably sit on the couch — there'd be no motivation to make anything."

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