‘Gone with the wind’
Mistint exterior paint on a recycled sail
6.5m x 3.5m, 2021
‘Gone with the wind’ was created using mistint exterior paint. Asides from being a budget-friendly option that prevents the rejected commercial mixes from going to waste and entering landfills, mistints can also provide entertaining surprises, as the colour you expect is not always the colour beneath the lid! This was a challenge I faced during this project when on the first day of painting I opened a large tin of dark blue to find a dollop of bright red on top!
The old sail, which I initially covered in this unforeseen purple hue, was kindly donated to me by Tim Straatmans, Inventor & Director of CFS-UNIVAT and Carbon Footprint Solutions in Gladstone.
The use of recycled materials in this project is a direct comment on the global need for improved waste management systems and modified production and consumer behaviour. This passion for sustainability grew throughout my time working as a professional diver across several countries whose societies lacked the infrastructure to deal with waste. As a result, I spent time living on plastic ‘paradise’ coastlines and diving on reefs which, in only a matter of weeks, I watched become riddled with disease.
My goal as a diver then became to contribute my skills and energy towards marine conservation. This brought me to the Great Barrier Reef where I worked during early 2020 on a research boat concerned with the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish invasion, before developing a severe allergy to the neoprene of wetsuits! This was, perhaps, the body’s way of saying that I should take a break from my mermaiding ways, and return to being a landlubber after all.
And then, in a perfect storm of timing, we were locked down. ‘Gone with the wind’ symbolises this personal journey to the region; from living among the Capricorn Bunkers of the Southern GBR to being caught between the Ironbark trees of Central Queensland.
The straps which bind the billowing sail also hint at the strength of the ties which were forged during that initial time here, which helped to transform the unfamiliar habitat into the safe haven where I have lived ever since. Yet, as the movement of the sail is also restricted in this unseemly location, the piece echoes the challenges of our recent confinements, as though a fly stuck in a web.
Recreating fragments of my diving memories in colourful and playful paintings has filled a large part of my artistic portfolio since putting down the fins. My work explores both realism and abstract expressionism, and I’m always looking for ways to embed environmental messages within the art.
‘Gone with the wind’ is no exception. A coral reef set intentionally among the trees on the side of Queensland’s Bruce Highway elicits consideration of the inextricable relationship between land and sea. Up close, lifesize footprints throughout the corals force the viewer to reflect on their own everyday impact on the natural environment, while an overall vibrant aesthetic appeals to viewers to protect what they love.
I give my respect and gratitude to the Byellee, Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang, and Taribelang Bunda people, who are the traditional custodians of this land, for the opportunity to connect with Country through art.