Ephemera Map
1 Lillian Del Papa – Dancing Lamps 2 Canaipa Connections – CORE
10 Squeak
11 Gala
– Waiting 12 Tom
3 Carla Gottgens – Riot 4 MealieArt – REEFlection 5 Board Broads – Circle of Life . . . Savers 6 FullARTon and Chard – A Day at the Beach in the 60s Rockpool
7 parthenopi – cookie 8 Southern Cross Catholic College –The North Queensland Parade 9 Chainsaw Newton – Uprooted 1 2 4
and Bubble – Terra TechniTropicus 3 5 7 6 8 11 9 12 10 Howitt St. Landsborough St. McKinley St.
Jane 8
Fruin –Rockpool 4 14
Street
Ministry House
13 Ghost Net Collective – Spiral 14 Townsville Secondary Schools with Cassie Robinson – Ephemera Frog Symphony 15 Robert Guenther – Entwine
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Chalk River Labs – Night Parrots 17 India Collins – Jellyfish Journey
18 Sandstorm Events – Dichotomy 19 The Beautiful and Useful Studio –Ocean Garden 20 Art forARTsake – Who Let the Dogs Out? 21 The Artist Trebor – Sea Jellies 22 Jan Hynes – The Museum of Extinct Animals for Children
Park
23 Townsville Primary Schools with Erin Ricardo and John Bradshaw –Ephemera Billabong
24 Cranky Curlew Productions – Their Second Wind
25 Tree & Leaf – Scarewood 2: The Saplings
26 Peter Voice – Pas De Trois
27 Alexandra Haeseker – WINGSPAN
28 Heatley State School – We Walk Together
29 Lifestyle groups with Chontelle Gilles
– Whispering Vines
30 Lois Creed – The Golden Wheels
31 The Glue Society – Fountain of Youth
Competitive Artist
Invited Artist
Canine Cut Out
Viewing Frames
Ephemera Information Booth
Workshop Marquee
Marble Run
The Pink Piano Toilets
Pier Pier 17 28 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 30 31 29
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Strand Park Gregory St. Kennedy St. Strand
Image courtesy of the Artist 16
Lillian Del Papa
Dancing Lamps 2023
Various metals, plastics and discarded lamps
250 x 200 x 50 cm
$2,000
About the Work
Dancing Lamps is designed to inspire random acts of fun, happiness and being completely ridiculous. It aspires to keep things in perspective, to overcome the fiasco of the day to day when dealing with trappings of the mind and to celebrate the good things, no matter how small.
About the Artist
Scientist Lillian Del Papa is also an artist, who specialises in abstract designs. She creates quirky pieces of art using everyday, ordinary items to change people’s perspective of their sense of worth and to inspire conversation. Inspired by her environment and driven by emotion, she is continually experimenting with different mediums to evolve her craft into new directions.
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Image courtesy of the Artists 18
Canaipa Connections
CORE 2023
Carpet core, recycled material, paint, polyurethane
360 x 700 x 700 cm
$800 per core
About the Work
CORE is a celebration of the sea and the forest: the flora and fauna of this place. Viewers are invited to move through the wonderful colours, patterns and textures found in the Tropical North.
The outer rings point to the vibrancy and diversity of life in this region while the centrepiece encourages contemplation of the damage being done to the environment, referencing cane burning and the bleaching of coral reefs in particular.
About the Artists
Canaipa Connections is a collective of artists, each of whom has some connection with Canaipa (Russell Island) and who have taken part in artist residencies on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) over the past two years. The residencies provide a full week of immersion in creative projects and are designed to develop and support individual creative practice. The collective regularly exhibits works developed or inspired by their Minjerribah residencies.
Many of the artists are also active members of Canaipa Mudlines (est. 2016), an artist collective focused on ephemeral work in the natural environment. Canaipa Mudlines holds regular on-site excursions, extended residencies and exhibitions including the 2020 Canaipa Mudlines exhibition at Redland Art Gallery.
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Choice Award
Image courtesy of the Artist 20
Carla Gottgens
Riot 2023
8mm laser-cut aluminium, automotive paint, mirror treated stainless steel
Seventeen parts; varies between 200 x 38 x 0.8 cm to 158 x 30 x 0.8 cm
Large $1,320 each, Small $880 each
About the Work
Riot encourages the viewer to play within it by mimicking the red-tailed black cockatoos that call The Strand their home. A threatened species in many other places in Australia, the flock that live on The Strand are very much alive and thriving. Their behaviour as they fly with reckless abandon throughout the trees can only be admired and called crazy. The feathers that form Riot allow the visitor to run between them and catch a glimpse of their own behaviour through mirrored discs that adorn the quills. In the same way that groups of visitors to The Strand run, swarm, trip, tumble, gather, laugh and play, so the birds reflect this in their daily demonstration in the tree tops.
About the Artist
Carla Gottgens is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Melbourne (Naarm). She creates site-specific work that encourages interaction and playfulness. Carla has exhibited around Australia and has created permanent public artworks for public collections in regional and metro areas. Her work ranges from sculptural works to murals and surface installations.
Carla recently installed a 15-metre-high soldier on the side of a water tower in regional NSW; a giant walkthrough installation of cut orange quarters for a sporting reserve in Victoria; a tunnel mural in Sydney; and street activations in five separate suburbs in Melbourne and two in Sydney.
Having completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (COFA) and a Master of Fine Arts (RMIT), Carla is increasingly working on community and socially engaged projects.
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Image courtesy of the Artist
MealieArt REEFlection 2022
Plastic
150 x 250 x 300 cm
$6,600
About the Work
REEFlection is a series of sculptural elements made from ordinary, everyday plastic items that the artist has collected, found or rescued from the environment and sculpturally replicated into a wonderland of corals. Amelia’s work provides a vision of textures, shapes and colours, while manipulating and exploiting recognisable objects to imitate the living reef formations and their inhabitants.
An awareness of the environmental plastic crisis facing our world is more urgent than ever before. People have admired and appreciated our beautiful oceans but have also impacted almost every ecosystem in every corner of the globe. Amelia’s aim for this multifaceted sculpture is to be a discussion piece at this crucial time of the Earth’s struggle for change, and to spur a dialogue on the effects that plastic has on our ocean and the creatures who are reliant on our life-giving reefs, oceans and waterways.
About the Artist
Amelia is a multidisciplinary artist who has spent her career working and learning within varied creative industries – designing for public and community art projects, painting murals for schools and educational sectors, sculpting for movie sets, and completing commercial illustrating for publications. Her studies and material exploration over the past decade has led her to use recycled and mixed media, forging details and visions of life within her fine art.
Amelia’s engagement with waste as a viable material and not a disposable or problematic incessant item has continued within her sculptural and installation works. Her hope is to educate people on the after-effects of excessive plastic waste and its continual degradation so as to quantify the viewer’s idea of their human footprint and to contemplate what our future might look like.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Board Broads
Circle of Life . . . Savers 2023
Repurposed materials: decommissioned rescue boards, paper, paint, rope, trampoline
frames
400 x 500 x 500 cm
NFS
About the Work
Circle of Life . . . Savers is a sculptural tribute to all surf lifesavers, raising awareness of their contribution to our Australian beach culture and lifestyle. The national association Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) is the largest volunteer movement of its kind in the world, with approximately 182,000 members. It is represented by the inner circle of red and yellow boards. The outer circle represents our local Townsville branch Arcadian Surf Life Saving Club Inc., which is celebrating 95 years of community engagement in 2023. We want people to reflect on the vigilance and service that volunteer lifesavers provide in making our beaches safe.
About the Artists
Board Broads is a group of women who became connected through our attendance at The HUB Creative Space, highlighting the premise of how art brings people together. Collectively, we truly believe that art has the ability to bind people to place as well as to each other. While we are an eclectic group, we all agree that the Townsville Strand is our place, whether we walk it, swim it or just enjoy its amenity. Individually, we are:
Fiona Banner, mosaicist and potter, BA Fine Arts, Wolverhampton Polytechnic
Sue Bright, owner/operator/maker The Hub Creative Space, 2015 Fringe Ephemera
Penny Glew, emerging artist, former Arcadian Surf Life Club member
Alison Macdiarmid, artist, BA Visual Arts, JCU, 2005, 2007 Strand Ephemera
Jane Mellors, marine biologist, BSc, MSc, PhD, JCU, Grad Dip Ed. Charles Darwin University
Kate Thomas, ADF Veteran, beachcomber, BA Performance BEd JCU
We would like to thank: Arcadia Life Saving Club, Picnic Bay Life Saving Club, It’s Paint, Tropical Packaging, Design Worx Apparel, The Hub Creative Space, Donna Stark and Ross Glew
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Image courtesy of the Artists
FullARTon and Chard
A Day at the Beach in the 60’s 2022
High density polystyrene, lightweight and blue boards, fibreglass mesh, tile mosaic construction
165 x 200 x 200 cm
$15,000
About the Work
A Day at the Beach in the 60’s brings back fond childhood memories of holidays across coastal Australia, but in particular good times on tropical beaches in Queensland. Essentials to take include a beach umbrella, hats, suntan lotion, transistor radio, something to read, an esky for refreshments and beach balls. However, when the artists reflected on their memories, the most significant item was the fringed beach towel.
Everyone had their own favourite towel which represented their personality and personal space on the beach. The towel defined a person’s boundaries and relationship with the beach – where they sat, relaxed, read and played.
What does your towel say about you?
About the Artists
Experienced collaborating artists Lee FullARTon and Denise Chard support and work with communities to create public mosaic art installations that meet the cultural and creative needs of communities. FullARTon and Chard have undertaken numerous community creations and commissions across Australia.
Both Queensland-based artists, they have played civic artist roles within the communities of Ipswich and Toowoomba after the 2011 Queensland floods.
They have successfully collaborated and delivered major artist-in-residency projects with children as well as had work commissioned, including public artworks for ANZAC Centenary RSL Queensland; Awesome Arts, Western Australia; Claremont Special School Ipswich – The Callistemon Seat, Leichhardt State School Ipswich; and The Gathering Space and Administration Entryway, St. Anthony’s School Toowoomba.
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Image courtesy of the Artist
parthenopi cookie 2022
Upcycled plastics, glass bottles, metal structure
300 x 300 x 150 cm
$3,000
About the Work
parthenopi’s vibrant sculpture cookie is inspired by Queensland’s floral emblem, the Cooktown Orchid. As a florist, she is captivated by our unique Australian native orchids. Here she juxtaposes their beauty with the ugliness of plastic waste to make viewers question what they are doing to help protect this vulnerable species and its habitat and to ask themselves: “Is this my rubbish on the beach?”
About the Artist
parthenopi has branched out from her career as an events florist to take on the challenge of creating sculpture in a different medium. She has drawn from her knowledge of making large sculptural floral installations for special events and used that to work with discarded materials; bringing everyday household and industrial plastic waste to life.
parthenopi relishes in experimenting with bold colour, striking texture and dynamic form and injecting a sense of fun into her work to delight audiences while also inviting them to contemplate a deeper message. She is endlessly inspired by the tenacity and unique beauty of Australian flora and its plight against plastic pollution. Another key element of her practice is assembling her sculpture in situ and being inspired by her surroundings; altering the artwork to honour the landscape and create a conversation between the two.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Southern Cross Catholic College
The North Queensland Parade 2022–23
Clay various sizes
NFS
About the Work
What does it mean to be a North Queenslander?
The Southern Cross Catholic College community answered this question through the form of a crab: tough on the outside, soft on the inside, a lover of the sun and the sea. The crabs in this work march along in a joyful parade, celebrating diversity, multiculturalism, mateship and how wonderful it is to live in North Queensland. We challenge you to find your crab. Which crab are you?
About the Artists
Artists and art teachers Athena Costopoulos and Skye Carroll have led this community project at Southern Cross Catholic College. Staff and students of all ages were given the opportunity to design, make and glaze their interpretation of a North Queensland crab. The project has been embedded into the curriculum and is also offered as part of the much-loved Reef Guardian program at the College.
Athena is a multidisciplinary artist, specialising in painting, printmaking and fibre art. Her work has been exhibited in solo and collaborative exhibitions in Townsville, Rockhampton and Brisbane, and she has designed and constructed sets for theatre groups. Athena’s recent practice centres around challenging perceived notions of the traditional use of materials and surfaces to create innovative artworks, often out of repurposed materials. This is Athena’s second collaborative artwork for Ephemera.
Skye is a ceramicist, painter and illustrator. Her self-portrait was shortlisted at the Percival Portrait Prize in 2018 and her upcoming solo exhibition My Spiritual Home reflects her love of the Great Barrier Reef. As a passionate scuba diver, lead Reef Guardian teacher and member of the Townsville Catholic Education Environmental Advisory Group, Skye supports schools with curriculum advice and promotion of sustainable practices.
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Image courtesy of the Artist 32
Chainsaw Newton
Uprooted 2022
Reclaimed logs
180 x 4000 x 4000 cm
$3,880
About the Work
Curious creatures indeed, slowly traversing the esplanade.
This work explores the idea of home and relocation through the artist’s chainsawcarved gastropod forms.
Reminiscent of hermit crabs, these spiralled creatures seem to move across the landscape in a slow dance as they explore the world.
His choice of only using reclaimed and found wood continues his belief of giving materials a second life.
The artist states: “there’s a beauty in re-using things. The scars and imperfections speak of a history and a story. New is brief, old is forever.”
About the Artist
Chainsaw Newton is a chainsaw sculptor. His medium is specifically used, reclaimed or rescued logs and timber. “I won’t kill a tree for the sake of art, but if I find it already dead and left to rot, it’s coming home with me for a second chance.”
His work makes use of natural contours and shapes within the wood. The scars, knots and cracks are embraced as unique and form part of the narrative. They tell a story about experiences and the history of a life lived.
The native timbers he uses are ethically sourced from his area and speak of the diversity of the Tweed Caldera and Border ranges. Recent events have written their own chapters in the story of the artist too.
March 2022 saw his hometown of Chinderah, Northern NSW, devastated by the major flooding of the Tweed River. The following month, a serous car collision landed him in hospital with a spinal fracture and lengthy recovery.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Squeak and Bubble
Terra Techni-Tropicus 2023
Recycled materials
180 x 500 x 400 cm
$3,000
About the Work
Step into a fantastically fecund, whimsical and delightful sculpture installation by Squeak and Bubble, who transform the detritus of modern life into a unique ‘eco system’. Journey into a world of wonder, where you can explore and discover a vast array of fantastical flora and fauna – and sometimes ‘flauna’, a spooky hybrid of the two – all made from recycled and found materials. Terra Techni-Tropicus is a colourful sculptural paradise that mirrors the fastpaced growth and the dangers that lurk in our own tropical paradise, emerging from the ground as fantastical fungi, towering totems and lush, lurid lifeforms. Watch out!
About the Artists
Squeak and Bubble are creative collaborators Kit Holloway and Nora Gigney, who create immersive colourful art installations that surprise and delight the viewer, especially at night when their glowing sculptures come to life under UV light. They collect and transform the detritus of human consumption, transforming recycled materials into fantastical sculptures that ignite the imagination.
Squeak and Bubble’s installations have featured in local galleries, and arts and music festivals, where they have delighted a diverse and inclusive audience.
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Image courtesy of the Artist
Gala Jane Waiting 2022
Found pallets and timber
100 x 800 x 30 cm
$8,000
About the Work
Waiting is a sculptural work created after the Lismore floods of 2022 that Gala Jane made from found pallets and timber destined to be thrown out after the city began to rebuild. These pallets were either picked up by flood waters and deposited elsewhere or were brought in with new building materials. The old and the new, the clean and the muddy. The work reads Waiting... Lismore is in a period of waiting, waiting for supplies, waiting for funding, waiting for help, waiting for the government, and waiting to go back home again. This work represents the rawness and roughness that is experienced in the town, yet also shows the strength and solidarity of a community rebuilding.
About the Artist
Gala Jane is a mixed-media artist whose research-based artworks use text to create social commentary around women’s safety and mental health. After graduating with a Bachelor of Art and Design from Southern Cross University in 2020, she has gone on to exhibit and curate solo and group shows throughout Australia. She received the 2020 SCU Graduate Prize from the Northern Rivers Community Gallery, where she exhibited her solo exhibition This Is Nothing New. Gala was awarded first place in the Ocean Shores Art Expo, NSW, in 2021; was selected as a finalist for the Wollumbin Art Award at the Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW; and recently exhibited a public work in Swell Sculpture Festival on Currumbin Beach, Queensland. Since losing her studio in the Lismore floods she was awarded the Cultural Tourism Capacity Grant from Regional Arts NSW to assist her rebuild and to start creating work again.
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Image courtesy of the Artist
Tom Fruin
Street Ministry House 2022
Constructed from welded and powder-coated steel with salvaged acrylic and LED lighting
211 x 168 x 168 cm
$75,000 USD
About the Work
This house sculpture is from my ‘Icon’ series of ‘stained-glass’ structures, where I transform commonplace or infrastructural shapes to encourage the viewer to reconsider their surroundings. This work re-imagines my ‘abject’ found-object quilts to radiate hope and exuberance. It is composed from store-bought and found plastic signage, representing the range of human experience and condition. By day, the work is a kaleidoscope of colour that transforms into a beacon of light at night. The four integrated LED lights will project the colourful scrambled patterns all over the landscape. The sculpture’s human scale and dynamic patterning allow it to have a commanding presence when viewed from a distance and a personal transformative experience from within.
About the Artist
Tom Fruin is a contemporary American sculptor, who currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York City. Fruin graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara, with a BA in 1996. Known for his large-scale installations, Fruin most commonly uses steel and highly coloured Plexiglass to create monumental sculptures referencing local building structures. He describes his drive to make art that is publicly accessible as well as sustainable by working with reclaimed materials and alternative energy. Fruin’s largest installation to date, the ‘Watertower’ series, is installed on multiple rooftops across New York City and around the country. Other large-scale work has been exhibited in public plazas in Prague, Vienna, Copenhagen, South Korea, and throughout the United States.
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Image courtesy of the Artists
Ghost Net Collective Spiral 2023
Metal rod frame with ghost net and beach found rope
330 x 150 x 150 cm
NFS
About the Work
Spiral creates a dichotomy between two silent predators who are leaving a path of destruction through our North Queensland oceans and tropical reefs. They are juxtaposed against the hope represented in the spiral of life.
The first predator is the destructive fishing gear that is frequently discarded and lost in the oceans, drifting and destroying reef life. On those same reefs, another killer crawls, consuming live coral: the Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS). One of its few natural predators is the Triton Shell. The COTS and the Triton Shell are some of the species that scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) are researching. The Ghost Net Collective were captivated by these animals during a residency at AIMS. With the help of AIMS staff, they developed the idea to produce a work that illustrates the spiral of life through the skeletal shape of the Triton Shell, using the rich palette of colour found in the deadly abandoned ghost net.
About the Artists
The Ghost Net Collective, led by Marion Gaemers and Lynnette Griffiths, is a flexible entity for collaboration. Their work can be culturally selective and cross-cultural as they see the best fit for projects and as opportunities arise. For this project, workshops were conducted, both face to face and virtual, with Erub arts; Townsville and Ingham arts community; Tagai College, Thursday Island; Bentley Park, Cairns; and Bowen State High and Southern Cross, Townsville. Also participating were AIMS employees in Perth, Darwin and Townsville and virtual workshops through MAGNT in Darwin. All these workshops extended the educational reach.
Each opportunity allows The Ghost Net Collective to extend upon their previous installation visions. Their strengths lie in including communities in projects. This project used instructional workshops, videos and work sheets to educate and enable people to produce sections of this work that explores some of the ocean research being undertaken by AIMS.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Pimlico State High School, William Ross State High School, Thuringowa State High School, Townsville Flexible Learning Centre, Heatley Secondary College – Special Education Program and Cassie Robinson
Ephemera Frog Symphony 2023
Mixed media
Various dimensions
NFS
About the Work
Ephemera Frog Symphony is a creative collaboration between five Townsville secondary school classes, Townsville City Galleries and local artist Cassie Robinson. Students from Pimlico State High School, William Ross State High School, Thuringowa State High School, Townsville Flexible Learning Centre and Heatley Secondary College – Special Education Program learned a range of art techniques and created individual artworks in a series of workshops that culminated in this collaborative, ephemeral artwork!
About the Artist
A Townsville local, Cassie Robinson works in a variety of mediums, almost always focusing on nature and animals. She has a passion for teaching art and making it accessible for all. This project was the perfect way to collaborate with amazing local young people and bring the native green tree frog the spotlight they deserve!
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Image courtesy of the Artist 44
Robert Guenther
Entwine 2022
Wood
4 x people forms
Highest 300 cm. Widest 240 cm Set around 500 cm circle circumference
$18,500
About the Work
Connect to your god, your higher self, to Mother Earth.
Connect to your family, your tribe, your humanity.
Connect to your spirit animal.
Connect, so we can heal this broken planet. Let the thread of kindness and compassion bind you to the hearts of others.
Let nature wrap its loving presence around you.
Let its roots engulf you. Become entwined, and let there be comfort and security in oneness.
Remind yourself that ultimately we are a great beating energy of light and love.
Kneel in gratitude.
Stand tall, and let your chalice of life overflow.
About the Artist
Through his studio Woodlust Design, Robert is an artistic furniture designer/maker from the Northern Rivers.
His pieces seek to create beautiful and elegant statements. They radiate the nostalgia of Art Deco, but with the clean lines of a modernist.
His love of timber is reflected in his sculptures. Whether it is the Viking ship/Whale (Ragnar V Moby – 2021 Ephemera) or the menacing 10m Bull Shark, the use of wood is prevalent. It is part of our lifesource.
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Image courtesy of the Artist
Chalk River Labs
Night Parrots 2023
Fibreglass sculpture with projection
180 x 240 x 300 cm
NFS
About the Work
Night Parrots is a projection sculpture of a parrot sheltering a fellow parrot with its wing.
The proud 1.8 metre tall, reinforced fibreglass sculpture is brought to life through a vibrant kaleidoscopic animation of seamlessly projection mapped hypnotic colour.
It is based on a ground-dwelling, nocturnal Australian species thought to be extinct until they were very recently rediscovered in Queensland in 2013. Night Parrots pays homage to this bird and the connections to resilience in human nature, creating a sense of discovery for audiences.
The geometric parrots are surrounded by three high-definition projectors illuminating the sculpture, accompanied by a multichannel soundtrack.
About the Artist
Chalk River Labs is a Melbourne-based creative studio founded by Jay Tettamanti, a multidisciplinary artist who creates experiential installations that combine projection, music and sculpture. Chalk River Labs draws inspiration from nature’s symmetry and complex geometry, overlaying them in a moving collage that transforms simple structures into mesmerising textured sculptures.
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Image courtesy of the Artist 48
India Collins
Jellyfish Journey 2022
Upcycled crab pots, upcycled clothing, upcycled marine rope, PVC pipe, solarpowered LED lighting
300 x 800 x 1000 cm
$12,000
About the Work
This cluster of 10 individual works is a tribute to the mysterious and ethereal creature of the sea: the jellyfish. Mesmerising to watch as they gently pulse and gracefully drift through the water, they carry their delicate tentacles behind them. These creatures are slow moving yet powerful, the most efficient swimmers in the ocean.
This installation evokes notions of departure and elicits possibilities of alternate existential realities. India’s work presents a visceral and poetic exposition of our deepest vulnerabilities, revealing the precariousness and preciousness of life, and celebrating the unimaginable discoveries we make along the way.
About the Artist
India Collins is a contemporary artist based in Far North Queensland. Born and raised in Canada, Collins studied Fine Arts in Montreal, Quebec. Her practice spans the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation, and textiles.
Much of her work is centred around narratives that are intrinsically connected to the materials being used. She harnesses personal histories, creating work that prioritises the sharing of knowledge and storytelling. As her work is often processdriven, it is evolutionary in nature.
Collins is particularly interested in how people engage within new space and strives to create work that challenges the viewer’s perception of how much their surrounding impacts on their state of mind as well as their social and emotional well-being. Through the fabrication of immersive and sensory environments – which incorporate texture, lighting, movement and sound – her work becomes a catalyst for re-engaging people in new and unexpected ways.
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Image courtesy of the Artists 50
Sandstorm Events
Dichotomy 2023
Hand-sculpted with Brickies Sand and water
300 x 850 cm
NFS
About the Work
Dichotomy is a 48-tonne interactive and immersive sculpture created from sand and water that explores the opposite extremes of nature – tropical land and sea – which will be intricately carved on either side of it. The Sea will take you into the depths of the oceanic waters, allowing you to marvel at the beauty of the Reef and the remarkable variety of coral, species of fish, numerous mammals and reptiles, types of molluscs and the unique range of habitats creating this natural ecosystem. You may even see a few man-made elements that have made their way to the bottom of the Ocean and have been adapted and used by this underwater world.
The Australian Tropical Rainforest has survived for millions of years, from the time the dinosaurs wandered the Earth. We will carve the beauty of this space, its rare plants, birds and animals that call this place their home.
About the Artists
Sandstorm Events is Australia’s only awardwinning sand sculpting event management company. With 17 years of experience in building and delivering exceptional quality bespoke sand sculptures, it is located in Melbourne and owned by husband-and-wife team Sharon and Peter Redmond. They have produced work for over 350 Australian and international clients. Sharon says: “Not a day goes by that l don’t thank my lucky stars that l can wake up each day and do something that l LOVE. Being able to play a role in living the profile of this amazing ephemeral art form and the artists that create is truly a go that l treasure.”
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Image courtesy of the Artists 52
The Beautiful and Useful Studio
Ocean Garden 2023
Polyester / air
180 x 170 x 170 cm
NFS
About the Work
Ocean Garden is a series of colourful giant sea urchins made from a textile created from recycled PET drinking bottles in a studio that uses 100% renewable energy (solar power). This artwork delivers a hopeful message about the power of change and sustainability.
About the Artists
The Beautiful and Useful Studio, led by artist Matthew Aberline, is a collaborative based in Sydney. While they have shown work around the world, this is the first time they have shown at Ephemera. Their colourful works have featured several times at Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney and Perth; they have shown a huge underwater seascape at Darling Harbour; and they have grown coral reefs across the Bega and Grafton Regional Galleries. Keen collaborators, they are best known for their work partnering with institutions to tell important stories including Cheeditha Art Group in the Pilbara, WA; the United Nations in New York; The World Trade Centre Oculus and World Pride, New York; and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
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Image courtesy of the Artists 54
Art forARTsake
Who Let the Dogs Out? 2022
Painted hardwood ply 90 x 1500 x 3.5 footprint variable cm from $130–$330 each
About the Work
What do dogs love more than a romp on the beach and who let them out? What brings a smile to everyone’s face more than cute playful dogs? Here we have many breeds to discover and delight. They can be solace for the soul – faithful, loyal joyous companions, non-judgemental and playful members of the family.
They are in various colours to reflect their personalities, each with their own collar and nametag. We have Poppy the Poodle, Josie the Greyhound, Mia the Maltese, Leonardo the hound, among many other breeds. Look for your own pooch or your favourite.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, more dogs were purchased than at any other time as they provide such joy, but sadly since owners are now allowed to travel again, many dogs are ending up in the pound.
About the Artists
Art forARTsake are Yanni Van Zijl and Pam Walpole, who collaborate to bring art to the people in public places. They choose sites where people don’t always expect to see art – on the beaches, at a mall, in a bushland setting – to reinforce their message to their stand for the environment. Sometimes it is just for the sake of art, a way to bring joy.
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Image courtesy of the Artist 56
The Artist Trebor
Sea Jellies 2022–23
Acrylic, various ropes, ribbons and cords, fishing tackle, aluminium and solar lights approx. 250 x 90 x 90 cm
$2,000 each (Negotiable)
About the Work
Far North Queensland. The Tropics. Where nature’s diversity flourishes in myriad ways both on land and in the sea.
That natural beauty can be a friend, foe or just plain freaky.
Think of jellyfish.
Do your thoughts immediately jump to the Irukandji or box jellyfish?
Then pause for a moment and realise that those are just two of the hundreds of species of jellyfish found in the waters around Townsville and the thousands of species found worldwide.
Jellyfish developed over 500–700 million years ago, and now present themselves in a multitude of shapes, colours and diversifications.
Sea Jellies are abstract expressions of that diversity. They take on a life of their own swaying and moving in the breeze as if caught in the tides and currents of the sea. At night they light up, showing off their pseudo bioluminescence in a rainbow of colours.
About the Artist
The Artist Trebor (Rob) grew up just outside Wellington, New Zealand.
As a boy, he would draw and paint on anything and everything, much to his parents’ dismay. Walls. Doors. Windows... even paper sometimes.
He studied VCD & Photography at Wellington Polytechnic, graduating in 1984.
From there he became an Art Director, working in some of the world’s biggest multinational ad agencies, creating many award-winning campaigns.
For the past 20-odd years, he has been running The AD Man-Rob Stephenson, a design consultancy.
He is a truly creative thinker and has recently turned back to the ‘art world’, creating in both two and three dimensions.
Since early 2021, he has exhibited sculptures in Swell Sculpture Festival, Sculptures on the Edge, Sculptures in the Vines and many other exhibitions in South-East Queensland.
Trebor draws inspiration from everywhere and creates interesting, witty, satirical, and thought-provoking sculptures and artworks.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Jan Hynes
The Museum of Extinct Animals for Children 2022–23
Nine plywood replicas of native animals from the Townsville/North Queensland region mounted on plinths and enclosed by a fence as one might see in a museum or zoo
160 x 720 x 720 cm
Price on application and to be negotiated according to whether purchased as an individual piece or total artwork
About the Work
Many native animals faced with the loss of habitat and threatened by introduced feral pests are dying out. Without protection, these endangered species will become extinct.
Today’s young children have a fascination with dinosaurs. We have to protect our Australian native fauna and flora or these unique species will become the dinosaurs of tomorrow.
About the Artist
Jan Hynes is an artist living and working in Townsville. Jan has regularly presented work in Ephemera, since its beginnings.
Jan frequently uses artwork to raise environmental or social issues. She has participated in solo exhibitions in Brisbane and Townsville, as well as numerous group exhibitions in Queensland and interstate.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Townsville Primary School
Students with Erin Ricardo and John Bradshaw
Ephemera Billabong 2023
Air-dried paper clay, foam, oil pastels, coloured pens Various dimensions
NFS
About the Work
Ephemera Billabong was a free visual arts project open to all Townsville primary schools, delivered by Townsville City Galleries in collaboration with local artists Erin Ricardo and John Bradshaw.
With the knowledge and guidance of our experienced artists, students learned tactile sculpting techniques and colour blending techniques, creating bright miniature sculptures of frogs and mushrooms using paper clay and brightly coloured native birds from foam and oil pastels.
About the Artists
Erin Ricardo is a professional artist and educator. She enjoys sharing skills with children and adults and facilitating art programs that promote community wellbeing. In her own practice, Erin explores printmaking techniques and draws inspiration from the colours and patterns of our North Queensland environment.
John Bradshaw is a mixed-media visual artist specialising in collaborative art with the local community and schools. Throughout the various projects, John aims to facilitate art workshops that inform participants of various art techniques and mediums while also encouraging a way of expressing stories and unique personality through their creations.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Cranky Curlew Productions
Their Second Wind 2023
Painted steel, copper, aluminium, plastic, chrome
approx. ~2 x ~45 m squared NFS
About the Artists
About the Work
Escaping lives of service and creeping redundancy, these humble, ubiquitous, mundane appliances will no longer churn stale air for humans. They gather at the beach, drawn to the wild, authentic wind. They wait to catch the breeze in their blades and feel their second wind.
Their Second Wind continues the theme of Cranky Curlew’s 2019, award-winning, animated short film: Gone with the Wind.
Cranky Curlew Productions (CCP) are George Hirst and Penelope Sheridan. They roam between installations, photography and public participation art but mostly create DIY no/low-budget films. Pre-CCP, they began and ran the Magnetic Times newspaper and website. George, a Canberra School of Art graduate, had solo and group shows in Canberra and Sydney while working at the National Gallery of Australia and later the (then) New Parliament House Construction Authority Art Collection. Later, in Townsville he curated and toured exhibitions from Perc Tucker Regional Gallery.
Penelope started out creating/performing theatre in education in regional Victoria before joining Townsville’s New Moon Theatre Company in the 1990s. After a few career turns and diving into low budget filmmaking, Penelope headed to New York in 2011 for an intensive film editing course. With several editor credits, awards and film festival laurels, Penelope continues to make films about people and places close to her heart (particularly her home on Yunbenun/ Magnetic Island).
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Image courtesy of the Artists
Tree & Leaf
Scarewood 2: The Saplings 2023
Ester-based polyurethane foam, timber armature, cardboard, paper, glue, roofing sealant, plastic foliage, rope, lighting, acrylic and enamel paint
Various sizes
$500 each
About the Work
Foolish humans! Like a B-grade horror sequel, I have sprouted anew. You have not listened to me, so now face my many saplings. The younger generation carry my message forward. They will rally together against your changing of the climate, the incessant noise along my Strand promenade and furniture made out of my friends.
Scarewood 2: The Saplings comes to life between 6 and 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays during Ephemera.
About the Artists
Scarewood 2: The Saplings marks the second collaboration of Townsville creatives Tree & Leaf (Michael Pope and Aaron Ashley, aka Tszar). Pope is an artist and teacher who predominantly works in drawing mediums. He is a co-founder of Urban Sketchers Townsville and member of Murky Waters Studio. Tszar is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores connection, alienation, and performance. Their work is informed by an academic background in the social sciences, a lifetime behind the camera documenting arts events, and a dark sense of humour.
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Peter Voice
Pas De Trois 2022
Mixed metals
Total 3 x 4-5m tall pieces approx. 2m apart.
$26,000
About the Work
Pas de Trois is inspired by the native Australian terrestrial Caladenia (Spider) orchids that can be found in coastal sand dunes, grasslands and forests all over our country.
The work is a 5 metre high stylisation in mixed base metals celebrating what is actually a tiny fragile plant that flowers for only two weeks in Spring. It is fabricated from metals designed to react differently to the environment, changing colour and texture over time, the copper will go green, the silver black and some of the steel, red. The ovaries under the flowers conceal custom-made bearings so the flowers’ aerodynamic shapes can gently respond to the wind direction giving them different aspects every time the weather changes.
Pas de Trois aims to remind people of the ephemeral natural treasures that are all around us when we take a little time to look.
About the Artist
Peter Voice is internationally recognised as a pioneer of contemporary “Street Art”, especially trompe l’oeil (3D). In 1984 he became Australia’s first legal pavement/ street artist and over a career spanning more than 35 years, he has created hundreds of ephemeral works for major festivals and special events across four continents. In 1991, he established ‘Chalk Circle’, the world’s first professional ‘Street Art’ troupe whose work still influences street art world-wide. He is also regarded as a key instigator of the WAMA project, a $9M ‘Work in Progress’.
The vast majority of Peter’s work is inspired by nature, from his chalk rosellas, lorikeets and herons on the streets of Melbourne in 1984 to the intricate award-winning paintings and drawing in his studio today.
Peter believes public art is a very powerful but quiet way to communicate, generate awareness and conversation. He believes it is an artist’s responsibility to start those conversations.
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Alexandra Haeseker
WINGSPAN 2022–23
Wood / ¼ inch thick styrene / stainless steel fixtures / Solar LED lamps
Three double-sided façade free-standing sculptures
180 x 240 x 8 cm
$20,000
About the Work
The public is encouraged to interact with the six sides of the three sculptures, becoming an Australian hybrid tropical butterfly-person! By enlarging the scale of the butterfly wings to a human size, the artist draws attention to how we are all part of a bigger identity tied to the tropical environment of Townsville. Alexandra Haeseker’s art installation work explores insect and plant life as ways to begin a dialogue on climate change, geographic awareness and our relationships to unique natural ecosystems.
About the Artist
Among Haeseker’s international museum installations and commissions are RED TIDE for the Coa Art Museum Portugal, 2014, which references nuclear fallout side-effects on marine life in oceans; SPAWN for the Ardel Museum, Bangkok, Thailand, 2015, which references how industrial development affects river systems; and NEBULA featured at Krakow International Triennial Poland, 2022, which depicts 200 moths attracted by city lights at nightfall.
At Castle Mills Contemporary Edinburgh Scotland, 2020, she installed THE BOTANIST’S DAUGHTER with 300 houseflies the size of open human hands among enlarged images of local flora, creating a ‘garden awareness experience’.
In 2022 she installed FLEURS DU MAL at The Vernon Public Art Gallery in British Columbia as a magnifying lens onto how insect and plant life are harbingers of how changes in climates of the region lead to forest fires and flooding...
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Heatley State School We Walk Together 2023
Metal and mixed media
150 x 200 x 200 cm
NFS
About the Work
We walk together, paying respect and showing recognition for the past while always looking with hope to the future.
We walk together to build stronger connections with the land, the sky and the waterways, treading lightly and treasuring our environment.
We walk together to learn and grow, becoming strong, resilient and successful young people.
We walk together, with hope, joy and gratitude.
About the Artists
Heatley State School opened in 1971 and is built upon the traditional lands of the Wulgurukaba and Bindal Peoples. Heatley is a multicultural school, with over 15 different nationalities represented.
To create this collaborative artwork, students from Prep to Year 6 and community members worked alongside local artists and teachers.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Bolton Clark Rowes Bay, Brooklea Lifestyle Village, Carlyle Gardens
Townsville, Oak Tree Retirement Village, Fibres & Fabrics Townsville, and Chontelle Gillies
Whispering Vines 2023
Yarn, beads, and bells
Various dimensions
NFS
About the Work
Whispering Vines is a creative collaboration between Townsville lifestyle groups, Townsville City Galleries and local artist Chontelle Gillies.
Participants from Bolton Clark Rowes Bay, Brooklea Lifestyle Village, Carlyle Gardens
Townsville, Oak Tree Retirement Village, and Fibres & Fabrics Townsville created individual artworks in a series of workshops that culminated in this collaborative community artwork. Knitting, crocheting, sewing, beading, macrame and weaving were techniques use to make these beautiful textile tree vines.
About the Artist
Chontelle Gillies is a local fibre artist, teacher and small business owner. Chontelle has been imparting her love of the fibre arts around Queensland for almost six years. Through her business, she offers patterns, DIY kits and fibre supplies for beginners all the way through to the avid crafter.
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Photographer: Andrew Rankin
Lois Creed
The Golden Wheels 2022
Metal, vinyl, paint, rubber
100 x 70 x 60 cm
NFS
About the Work
In this work, artist Lois Creed has transformed her materials into a shrine and tribute to herself, her family, her past and her future. This art piece has been everything; her Golden Wheels are illuminating, sacred, durable and precious, just like GOLD. Her installation is made from 100% recycled materials – her own wheelchair, her Cockatoo Garden ornament ‘BUDDY’, and her crown made from the lids from the spray cans she used to paint pieces.
Lois’s love of colour, her vibrant personality, her wise words, her strong family ties, her love of community, and her belief in equality for all are known by everyone. She is a delight to behold. A proud Wulgurukaba woman and mother, she is a local Indigenous art collector, painter, home decorator, and bringer of joy. The Golden Wheels installation is everything that defines her family, her ancestors and her all as precious as GOLD!
About the Artist
Lois Creed’s concept came from her real life. Originally from Cairns, she is a Wulgurukaba Elder, a Traditional Owner of Gurambilbarra (Townsville) and Yunbenun (Magnetic Island), she is a queen, and one of her totems is Gimuru (The White Cockatoo), and her Golden Wheels.
Born with cerebral palsy in 1962, Lois was placed in the care of the Cootharinga Home for Crippled Children from the age of four until 10. She fights many battles for equality, a VOICE, VISIBILITY, IDENTITY, RESPECT through her art and with her totem.
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The Glue Society Fountain of Youth 2023
Manneken Pis replica statues, concrete statue plinth, custom built central bath, concrete base, 120GPH recirculating fountain pump and mechanical rotating platform with timer 120 x 210 cm
NFS
About the Work
Allegorically, the Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which restores the youthful spirit of anyone who comes in contact with its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for countless centuries.
Our sculpture Fountain of Youth is an interactive installation that takes this idea and (literally) spins the well-known and copied Manneken Pis statues into an engaging public artwork. Rather unusually, six identical copies of this iconic statue are assembled in a circle, all peeing into a central bath – representing the competitive male ego at work. But the work hides a secret which needs to be experienced to be believed.
After years of lockdowns and global crises, we welcome the thought that art can bring joy – that it can encourage and engage us. This unexpected twist on the traditional fountain sculpture will capture the playful spirit of childhood, ultimately delivering on the elusive promise of the Fountain of Youth.
About the Artists
The Glue Society is an international art and directing collective. The Glue Society’s creative work encompasses everything from experiential and activation projects, entertainment and commercial direction to art exhibitions, installations and sculpture. In response to its pioneering work balancing art and commerce, Creativity Magazine defined the creative group as “the experts at things which haven’t been done before”. The Glue Society has exhibited at Miami Art Basel, Pulse New York, London Design Festival, Art & About Australia, Hecho en Casa, South America – as well as at numerous shows across the world. And the group is currently the artist leading the installation of the Earth’s Black Box project in Queenstown, Tasmania – literally a black box monitoring the environmental health of the planet for future generations.
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