Flotsam and Jetsam at re:fraction

Flotsam and jetsam (return to paradise)
An installation of ‘sea glass’ on the waters edge at the sculpture park

Flotsam and Jetsam is an installation of broken glass bottles, their surfaces printed with iconic images from family summers at our west coast batch. Each piece of glass has been tumbled to resemble ‘sea glass’ then printed using photographic emulsion.

Flotsam and Jetsam is an attempt to evoke ideas of home and family when confronted with the reality of returning to New Zealand. After living and working in London for ten years, I found that coming home was not just a geographic shift, a return to my own place of childhood and remembrance. It became more the task of trying to create new idyllic childhood memories for my children, with reference to my own… long, hot summers spent wandering along the beach, the smell of freshly mown grass, catching cockabillies in our stream…

At the beach we used to collect soft pieces of ceramic and sea glass treasure, but as an adult I view them differently. To me they are a symbol of our willingness to ignore our impact on the environment. After a lifetime of working in advertising, I find it difficult to reconcile the myth of a ‘clean, green Aotearoa’ with the evidence before me. I remain inspired however by the way the water takes these discarded objects and remakes them into things of beauty.