Welcome to Alphie
Alphie is a 15m inflatable black-and-white turtle, who will be soaking up the vibe in Darling Harbour for the next few weeks.
The seagull looks a bit surprised, and doubtless many Sydneysiders will be too, but the Hornet team know all about Alphie. We managed the design and manufacture of this one-off artwork masterpiece, and we’re thrilled he’s finally made it to Sydney.
Alphie’s not just a pretty shell, though – this giant inflatable turtle has a purpose. Alphie’s here to promote Sydney’s first Underwater Art Exhibition. More importantly, artist and creator BJ Price hopes Alphie will ‘bring arts to the people’ and encourage more of us in Sydney to think about reef health.
Congratulations BJ on an amazing artwork and best wishes for exhibition success at the Aquarium and Gallery V !
More about Alphie
Alphie’s official name is Alpha Turtle.
Alphie is 15m long and 5 m tall.
Alphie was born in China, but conceived on the Great Barrier Reef, which serves as inspiration for his creator – abstract impressionist artist and underwater explorer BJ Price.
His black and white design is a depiction of coral reef structures. It is based on BJ’s masterwork Alpha, which is also featured in the Exhibition at Sydney Aquarium.
Alphie was actually three days late into Sydney. Nothing to do with Hornet’s project management, of course. It was simply that the weather was too bad on Tuesday, with strong winds making it impossible for him to navigate the Harbour safely.
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Update 16 August: Alphie’s certainly made a bit of a splash! He now has his own Facebook page, and he’s been featured in Australian and international news, including the Telegraph, SMH, SBS, ABC Sydney 702, the BBC, the Chicago Tribune and many more. Everyone loves him except the Canberra Times – we think they’re just jealous! (Or trying to drum up enthusiasm for their Skywhale.)
And here’s a video from Associated Press: