Dark Ecology - Palimpsests

As part of the Dark Ecology project, I created a series of artworks constructed as palimpsests. A palimpsest is an artwork which involves the application of successive layers of paint which are distressed, sanded or partially erased suggesting the passage of time.

The Algal Bloom diptych depicts the algal bloom that occurred in South Australia in 2025 as both a natural phenomenon and a sign of ecological imbalance. On one hand, it represents life thriving while on the other, the decay and destruction that occurred due to the toxic bloom. The layers evoke the earlier vitality of open pristine waters and sponge gardens, the neon green of the bloom following by collapse into suffocation and decay. By working in layers, I mirror the way aquatic systems hold memory - each stage of the bloom leaves traces that shape what follows. They reflect the fragile thresholds between abundance and degradation, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship to the unseen transformations of the natural world.