Updated March 13, 2017 15:33:43

Photo: Heavy equipment was needed to rescue the artworks. (ABC News: Laura Gartry)

A high tide at Cottesloe Beach has forced the organisers of Sculpture by the Sea to move some exhibitions.

The high tide, combined with a weekend storm, is threatening up to five sculptures at the popular outdoor installation, which attracts tens of thousands of viewers each year.

A spokesman for Sculpture by the Sea, David Hanley, said plans were underway to move them to higher ground.

"Overnight the sea came up, as we all know there was quite a storm coming through Perth, and it whipped up the surf and as a result of that the beach has diminished a lot, so we are moving four or five of the sculptures," he said.

He said it was the third time in 13 years they had been forced to move sculptures due to beach erosion.

"We were losing a metre of beach an hour this morning," he said.

"There are logistical challenges [moving the sculptures].

"We have to get high up onto the beach to lift them up. One of the sculptures has a huge metal plate underneath it, so there's some work there."

Mr Hanley said none of the sculptures had been damaged.

Photo: One of the sculptures being removed from Cottesloe as the tide rises. (ABC News: Laura Gartry)

Topics: arts-and-entertainment, visual-art, contemporary-art, cottesloe-6011, wa

First posted March 13, 2017 15:00:42