Coral: Art, Science, Life
Jenny Pollak, 1 Degree of Separation, 2011, courtesy the artist and the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney
ArtiFacts Eastside.
Join me, Jane Raffan, for a program that looks at one of our precious and threatened natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef, and specifically, its main life force, the coral.
We’ve been hearing about the various dangers to the oceans—and the Great Barrier Reef in particular—for a while now, including shipping & pollution, ocean acidification & temperature rises, and most recently, UNESCO’s concerns about dredging the seafloor near Gladstone, Queensland. You can learn more about this threat at: https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/coal-seam-gas/great-barrier-reef/save-the-reef
My guests today are Dr Jude Philp, Senior Curator at the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney, and artist Jenny Pollak, whose work features in the Macleay’s new exhibition, called Coral: Art Science Life.
In Coral: art four artists exhibit works that explore our relationship with this fragile waterscape. In Coral: science the work of four University scientists demonstrates the importance of research for understanding the reefs and their future. In Coral: life two schools in the Torres Strait share their vision of living on the reefs of the Coral Sea.
More on the exhibition and the museum’s hours of opening can be found here: https://sydney.edu.au/museums/events_exhibitions/macleay_exhibitions.shtml
And if you are interested in stats on the threat to coral reefs and into mobile app technology, then check out the art posters in Taylor Square, Sydney. Lynette Wallworth’s ReKindling Venus: InPlain Sight invites you to join a global network by downloading a free app, which activates a 3D portal. Point your app at the posters – immersive installations – and you will be able to receive real-time alerts about coral bleaching world wide and link to a website with more information on warming sea temperatures. This work is part of Wallworth’s larger ReKindling Venus project, https://rekindlingvenus.com
And if you want to mix your activism with scuba diving, visit earthwatch.org.au for information on an eight day research trip to Orpheus, an 11 kilometre-wide island in the GBR, about 1200 km north of Brisbane. They are looking for open-water certified diving volunteers to assist scientists collect data.
Taking cues from the subject of the Macleay’s exhibition and the City of Sydney’s public art program about coral reefs, the program’s music will reference watery themes, including contemporary jazz tracks actually named after underwater organisms – true!
As always, I look forward to your company.
Jane
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