A stainless steel masterpiece

Michael Van Dam’s award-winning stainless steel dragon sculpture plays a major part in Chinese culture dating several thousand years. 

The dragon is a symbol of prosperity, strength, courage and resolve. The designer himself was born in the year of the Dragon (1964). As a result of welding thousands of stainless steel links together, alongside Van Dam’s creativity, a durable and aesthetically pleasing piece of art came to life – The ‘Emerging Dragon’. 

The Emerging Dragon has been showcased at various locations and shows on the Gold Coast. This stainless steel masterpiece was originally created for the 2015 Swell Sculpture Festival held on Currumbin Beach which attracted 250,000 visitors over ten days, winning both Kid’s and People’s Choice Awards. 

The 3m high by 5m long sculpture was created from more than 4000m of 4mm 316 stainless steel chain and weighs an impressive 700kg. Following fabrication the sculpture was electropolished. All stainless steel chain used for Michael’s sculptures is supplied by ASSDA Member BRIDCO. 

Van Dam’s stainless steel art pieces are well equipped to face the rigours of outdoor display. This led to grade 316 stainless steel chain being his choice of material for all his sculptures. He believes the use of stainless steel for his pieces makes for a unique use of the material, it feels great to the touch, can withstand various environments and will outlast most other materials. 

This article featured in Australian Stainless magazine - Issue 63, Spring 2018