Seaweed Arboretum - Float

Seaweed Arboretum – Float is one of a suite of 3 installations, along with Forest and Flora, exhibited at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum. The exhibition was held in conjunction with the Seaweed Forests Festival, and provided an evocative and immersive marine botanical environment for the month-long program of talks workshops and events.

Float is a suspended installation of delicate golden kelp and crayweed. Each seaweed sculpture is counterbalanced with a small clear bag of seawater. They are left free to ‘float’ and turn in currents of air - as if in memory of their prior suspension in currents of water. Float was installed in a light filled gallery with views to the seaweed’s earlier ocean home beyond.

Like Forest, the installation became the habitat for a series of festival talks, food demonstrations, science sessions and art workshops including:

Cooking with Seafood – Gary Fishwick; SIMS Kids microscope session – Dr Adriana Verges and Dr Ziggy Marzinelli; Sun Prints from the Sea – Julie Ryder; Seaweed Drawing - Michaelie Crawford and Jennifer Turpin.

This project was supported by the NSW Government My Community Grant and Australian Kelp Products.