In a standout moment at this year’s Lake Light Sculpture festival in Jindabyne, metal artist, Madelaine Last, known for Mad Metal Creations, took home the People’s Choice Award for her piece ‘A Riot of Laughs’ with the new pieces flying off the foreshore.

The response was instant and emphatic as all 12 on-site works sold in under 24 hours.

This prompted Ms Last to offer a limited release of 15 commissioned pieces, which also sold in a short amount of time.

Ms Last, a collector of “random junk” has given new life to recycled metal material through welding and sculpture for many years now and has built a formidable reputation at Lake Light Sculpture after entering many pieces and receiving many awards.

Entering her first piece, ‘Bush Chandelier’ in 2019 which earnt her the ANU Artist Residency Award, Ms Last has continued to enter every Lake Light Sculpture event since, saying it’s her favourite exhibition.

From her base on her Swifts Creek property in Victoria, she works full-time as an artist, turning recycled materials into striking works that resonate with the community.

Her career in metal began in an apprenticeship that deepened her comfort with power tools and shaping metal.

In addition to winning this year’s People’s Choice Award at the Lake Light event, she also took the same award title in 2023 and garnered the ANU Artist Residency Award in 2019 as well as the Waste to Art Award in 2025.

Ms Last said upon finding out she had been awarded the People’s Choice Award for 2026 she was absolutely ‘stoked’.

“I think its extra satisfying receiving a People’s Choice Award because you know it’s really loved by lots of people, it’s a pretty cool feeling to know your work is loved,” Ms Last said.

Community feedback echoed that sentiment, with many attendees telling Ms Last it was their favourite piece.

Taking around 10 to 12 hours to complete each kookaburra, many hours went into ‘A Riot of Laughs’ with the majority of the material recycled.

Ms Last said her main objective was to showcase contrast between the white and darker brown feathering.

“I used a lot of stainless-steel cutleries, including spoons and forks, for the feathering,” she said.

“That’s a fun part of my job, hunting through all the different types of materials to find the perfect pieces.”

Attending many different exhibitions, Ms Last highlighted the Lake Light Sculpture’s resilience, praising the committee for steering the event through floods and the pandemic to deliver a vibrant and inclusive exhibition.

“Lake Light Sculpture is my favourite event of the year,” Ms Last said.

“The atmosphere is one of the best vibes I’ve encountered at an exhibition.”

Beginning next week, Last will join seven students at Swifts Creek High School to build a two-metre-tall kangaroo sculpture for the school front as part of a six-month residency.

The collaboration will introduce welding skills to students with varying levels of experience and culminate in a public artwork.

“This is going to be a really cool experience for me, it is going to be great to teach them those skills as well as building the sculpture with them and having something they all can be excited about and proud of at the end,” Ms Last said.

Ms Last plans to return to the Lake Light Sculpture next year, and she anticipates continuing to contribute to the festival’s celebrated tradition of community-driven art.

“For as long as LLS continues to run, I will be entering my work and coming along to join in on all the fun festivities,” Ms Last said.