Michael Van Dam is a Queensland based artist and welder known for creating extremely strong and durable sculptures from marine grade stainless steel chain. His sculptures, which take hundreds of hours to be created, are well equipped to face the rigours of outdoor display, particularly in coastal environments, and many of Van Dam’s works can be found at marinas and other public spaces across Australia, including Sydney Harbour. His work is often sea or marine-life themed, which he attributes to his life-long love of being in and around water.
Van Dam, won the Swell Sculpture Festival Emerging Artist Award in 2013, and was a finalist in the 2014 Sculpture at Sawmillers exhibition in Sydney.
