The hearts hoping to create lasting impact at Sculpture by the Sea

Decade-long friends Philippa Lysaght and Omi McCurdie spent last Thursday hauling dozens of concrete hearts around a park in the pouring rain.

"Not just a little bit of rain, a lot of rain and concrete gets very slippery when wet," Ms McCurdie said.

"So we were kind of slipping and sliding around here."

It was the final task to bring to life a project the pair hoped would create long-lasting change for victims of domestic violence.

The hand-polished concrete hearts, entitled Sweethearts, stand at Marks Park between Sydney's Bondi and Tamarama beaches as part of this year's Sculpture by the Sea.

The hearts represent the women who have been killed by their former or current partner this year.

Ms Lysaght and Ms McCurdie always knew the impact they wanted to have on the 400,000 people expected to visit this year's exhibition, however the exact number of hearts to create took more consideration.

They were originally planning on making 52 hearts, reflective of the 52 women killed each year on average in Australia.

"But as we were creating the work, we realised that this year was a particularly bad year for violence against women," Ms Lysaght said.

"We didn't want to under-represent the issue."

'It should make you feel sick'

This is Ms Lysaght's first venture into the art world, coming from an advocacy work background.

She consulted with several community groups and women's shelters to come up with the phrases etched into each heart that typically "excuse, minimise or ignore violence".

"For me, the point of these phrases is it should be so familiar, you should have said it or heard it," she said.

"It should make you feel sick when you see that you recognise it."

Ms McCurdie, by trade a sculpture artist, was responsible for the technical design of the hearts and said the process was emotional at times.

"You're working on each heart and polishing it or we're pouring it … And just reflecting on what it says and thinking about that," she said.

Both are first-time entrants in the annual outdoor sculpture competition, which organisers say is the biggest in the world.

It provided the perfect opportunity to have as many people as possible see the work.

"I wanted it in a space that was very iconically Australia, that also got a lot of foot traffic," Ms Lysaght said.

After travelling to Western Australia for the Cottesloe edition of Sculpture by the Sea in March, the hearts will go on sale with the proceeds donated to organisation Women's Community Shelters.

Three decades of art

Sculpture by the Sea is celebrating 30 years since founder David Handley worked with a team of volunteers from his Bondi lounge room to launch it in 1977.

"I had $100 in the bank, 10 weeks later we put the show on," Mr Handley said.

Despite its humble beginnings, it was an immediate success, attracting 25,000 people to its first one-day exhibition.

Hundreds of sculptures are on display along the 2-kilometre stretch of coastal track, including 30 by international artists.

Portland artist Harrie Fasher took out the competition's top prize, the Aqualand Sculpture Award, for her abstract work Unveiling the Edges of the Sky.

While Waverley Council estimates the event injects $10 million each year into the local economy, Mr Handley said bringing free art to the community remained his goal.

"Each year the highlight for me is that look of wonderment on a child's face," he said.