2020 Maritime Art Prize

Ghost Schooner

paper made from marine macroalgae and ground charcoal

43 x 62 cm

My artwork Ghost Schooner has been shortlisted for the 2020 Maritime Art Prize.

This artwork was inspired by a visit to South West Tasmania where the schooner ‘Lourah’ was wrecked during a fierce storm in 1899. No lives were lost, and no remains of the schooner can be seen today, but I sensed the spirit of the doomed schooner living on in the sea, caught forever in the liminal zone between worlds.

I gathered some floating seaweed which I later processed this to form several different pulps. These were then combined to create the final image as a single sheet of paper. The work is framed between two thin sheets of glass, to enhance the floating, ethereal appearance of the work.

This work continues my focus on themes of loss, transition and transformation, as embodied in sea narratives.

The exhibition will be held online this year, and opens on October 15.