A shark of tangled seaweed floats above your head at the Australian Museum. Its shadow is projected on the wall behind it, an ethereal suggestion of fleeting movement and an aqueous existence. Representing the critically endangered Whitefin Swellshark Cephaloscyllium albipinnum a species endemic to south eastern Australia on the outer continental shelf this sculpture draws attention to the plight of a little-known marine creature threatened by overfishing.

It was created in response to an energetic drawing by Melbourne based young artist – 4 year old Inara Wilson who depicts the shark in its rocky seaweedy habitat.

The exhibition ‘Fantastical Sharks and Rays’ organised by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and hosted by the Australian Museum featured representations of rare and endangered sharks and rays by 10 professional artists working in response to drawings by 10 children chosen from a nation-wide competition of 1500 inspiring works by children keen to protect our oceans and halt extinctions.