The Domes & A Coral Sea
About the work:
In A Coral Sea 2013, a large Perspex case reminiscent of a Victorian fish tank contains a reef fashioned from discarded plastics. Three Megallanic Penguin skeletons chase up to 100 fish skeletons of various species around the reef of plastic. This work and The End of Nature- Reef , 2011(fig 1) describe the bleaching of the world’s reefs and the pollution of the oceans by plastic waste. Mr Rudd’s Cabinet of Climate Change Curiosities 2009 (fig 2) consists of a large black museum style cabinet with three shelves, each displaying morphed insect/plant /coral forms made principally from lathed timber, botanical material from my garden with skin and fur, finished in acrylic paint. As the title suggests, the work was borne out of my frustration with climate change legislation, or lack of it and the inability of our politicians to show leadership in 2009. These are my ‘cautionary’ animals for a dystopic future.
The End of Nature- Bush I & II, 2011(figs 3/4) and The End of Nature- City 2011(fig 5) reveal landscapes, fashioned entirely from plastic toys including cars, soldiers, farm animals and weapons representing a scaled down picture of human activity. In these landscapes the skeletons of birds and mammals preside as eerie reminders of the fragility of life on earth.
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fig 1 
fig 2 
fig 3
fig 4
fig 5