‘Traversing the Deep’, at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, 2019 follows up from my installation from 2017 entitled ‘Surface Deep’ and exhibition at Stockroom titled ‘Traverse’. It poses the question, what would you do if you had to flee your home via boat? As Australians, we are not immune to the threat of forced population migration. By floating the faces of regular Australians in water, I provide an opportunity for visitors to find their own likeness within the faces and possibly build empathy for refugees.

Installing art in water has it’s own trepidation. We first installed on the south side of Lake Wendouree, Ballarat. My installation included a beautiful ghost boat made of perspex. A storm hit the lake the night of the install and when we returned the next day, the artwork was tossed against the shore, and the Ghost Boat was gone, never to be seen again. I dream that it had transcended into a different plane of existence, but the truth is that it is either sunk onto the bottom of the lake or adorns someone’s backyard as a curiosity.

TRAVERSING THE DEEP | BALLARAT INTERNATIONAL FOTO BIENNALE | 2019