What you can make with Flotsam and Jetsam is incredible but what it does in the making of it is even better. It creates compassion for the sea life, caring and connection in the community and an empathy for ocean that needs a helping hand.
I love entering Latitude Gallery, Flotsam and Jetsam exhibition which is held every year. The rubbish is collected from the beautiful Abrolhos Islands, and comes back to Geraldton where people in the community create art from it. (And it’s really fun!)
Geraldton, West Coast, Australia
My entries this year
Entry A
TAKE MY HAND SAID THE SEA
Take my hand said the sea
Be brave and come with me
For I do not lead you to harm
I soothe the waves and bring the calm
Take my hand and you will see
Take my hand said the sea
Be brave and come with me
From the deepest depth of my soul
I have the ability to make you whole
Take my hand and you will see
Take my hand said the sea
Be brave and come with me
I do not ask for your support
A gift I offer, for life is short
Take my hand and you will see
Take my hand said the sea
Be brave and come with me
Come, come, do not wait
The time is now, it’s not too late
Take my hand, I will set you free
Representing a helping hand of the sea to us. The ocean and its abundance of sea-life is hand painted with added coral and seashells living on the hand. Created from a recycled mannequin hand with the outer surfaces of cray pot floats as coral plus shells and barnacles. Resembling the delicate blue and white hand-painted porcelain and aiming to give feelings of wellbeing and freedom that the sea so often gives us.
Entry B
HELP
The extended hand of ‘Help’ representing the sailors drowning on 4 June 1629, as The Batavia struck Morning Reef, some sailors drowned and some succumbed to the myths of the sea monsters. The coral growth and seashells represent the relics of the Batavia encrusting under the sea. Keen to have a strong cultural tie to Holland, I wanted the artwork to resemble Dutch Delftware, hand-painted blue & white pottery that originated in the Netherlands and is deeply rooted in Dutch culture and history. Often almost 400 years old, the Delftware mirrors the almost 400 year old, Dutch Batavia shipwreck. Created from recycled mannequin hand with the eroded surface of cray pot floats as coral with added shells and barnacles.
