Shorelines

Eucalyptus wood and milk paint. 15,000 pieces.

Installed on the Tasmanian Parliament House Lawn, November 2018, for the anniversary of the WW1 Armistice.

Supported by the Tasmanian Government and the Tasmanian State RSL.

Shorelines spoke of hope, that peace is attainable.

Created in collaboration with the Tasmanian Government and State RSL to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of World War I, this installation transformed the Parliament House lawns into a site of collective remembrance. Fifteen thousand abstracted lifeboats—one for each Tasmanian who served in the conflict—were laid out like waves approaching shore.

The ideas in this work centre on two images.

The first is our Australian shoreline, used as a metaphor for journey, a threshold, something Tasmanians and Australians had to cross to first leave our country, then again to enter the conflict, and finally to return to Australia, either physically or spiritually.

The second image was the Gallipoli lifeboat, used to symbolise each Tasmanian who served in the war. In total, 15,000 men and women chose to serve. At the time, this was a huge percentage of the Tasmanian population. Each one of the 15,000 lifeboats in the installation is unique, made from the variable forms naturally found in eucalyptus wood and milk paint.

Together, the boats create long lines across the lawn, symbolising waves lapping a shore—a visual meditation on passage, sacrifice, and the longing for communities to find their way home to peace.