First-time entrant and major prize winner of this year's Sculpture by the Sea exhibition Mark McClelland created his colossal work after some divine inspiration. "I just wok up one day in the middle of last year with a drive to create a work specifically for this show," he says. "It came from God really".

Skilful placement played a large role in determining the winner of this year's $30,000 NAB Sculpture Prize: Mark McClelland's she thought - a flat rectangle of steel with a key-shaped hole, thought which one observes the horizon where the sea meets the sky. The sheer simplicity of the work is appealing, although the choice cannot have been easy for this year's judge, Terence Maloon, from the Art Gallery of NSW.

Sunshine and whales... What a difference a day makes! After three days of wild storms, this morning early visitors to the exhibition were greeted by a beautiful sunrise and the extra surprise of two separate pods of whales frolicking off the point at Marks Park. The park itself is now full of school groups enjoying the sculptures, and the weather for the weekend is predicted to be fine again. In today's email we are featuring a number of the prize winning sculptures from the 2008 exhibition.The NAB Sculpture Prize is the major prize at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2008, and was awarded to Mark McClelland for his work 'she thought'. Photo Jamie Williams

First-time entrant and major prize winner of this year's Sculpture by the Sea exhibition Mark McClelland created his colossal work after some divine inspiration. "I just wok up one day in the middle of last year with a drive to create a work specifically for this show," he says. "It came from God really".