Mackay Artspace Mackay, Northsite Contemporary Arts Cairns, Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts Townsville, Gatakers Artspace Maryborough 2020-2021
The touring exhibition of the combined works by two far north
Queensland artists, Barbara Dover and Robyn Glade-Wright,
Disquiet: Ecological Anxieties and Transformations, interrogates
the ecological impacts of marine and coastal plastic
pollution.
Research shows that discarded plastics now contaminate the diets
of 90% of marine bird species, as well as turtles and seals.
Plastic never disappears; it simply breaks up into
microplastics, forming an underwater “smog” affecting everything
from plankton to human aquaculture.
Images of tropical Queensland evoke pristine landscapes with
stretches of golden sand edged by blue water. However,
Glade-Wright and Dover challenge this idyll by bringing
attention to that fact that coasts are now pervaded by
pollution. The artists use actual discarded marine debris as
their materials to produce objects impressive in their scale and
assemblage.
