Description

Above and Below is a hand printed Monotype in oil inks, on Fabriano Artistico paper.

In this artwork I blend an underwater perspective with the view from the Safety Cove rock shelf to depict the two linked landscapes of above and below.
I stood on the rock shelf watching the waves roll in, showing glimpses of seaweed in their curves before they broke; moving windows into the underwater world. The brief visibility of life underneath the waters’ surface made me aware of the vastness of the seascape just beyond my feet. How much more, I wondered, might we protect this underwater landscape if we could see its temperate rocky reefs and seagrass meadows spread out before us as easily as we enjoy a beautiful vista on land?
This spot on the northern end of Safety Cove beach, Tasman Peninsula, looks out upon a small section of where the giant kelp forests of Tasmania once flourished all along the east coast. Now only tiny isolated patches of this forest remain: victims of a spike in coastal ocean temperatures and the southward migration of the long-spined sea urchin that thrives in the warmer waters. All gone before most people even noticed, along with many of the fish and other species that relied on them.