Introducing this year's Alumni Awards Artist
Introducing this year's Alumni Awards Artist
Ellie Hannon
Traversing the fields of exhibition work, public art and community engagement projects, alumna Ellie Hannon establishes a visual narrative that explores the themes of values and our relationship with the environment.
In early 2021, artist Ellie Hannon joined an oceanographic research expedition onboard the Schmidt Ocean Institutes research ship “Falkor” to work alongside scientists. This three-week residency took place at Ashmore Reef, a marine park 630km north of Broome. The artwork “Forest of the sea” was painted whilst on board this ship, responding to the film imagery collected during the daily transects of the Ashmore Mesophotic reef zone.
Forest of the Sea was exhibited alongside other paintings and ceramics as well as film footage by Conor Ashleigh at Mailtand regional Art Gallery in October 2022 as a part of the exhibition titled Half-Light. This exhibition offered insight into the immersive world of Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. Hypothesized to be of significant ecological importance, these deeper coral reefs are between 50-150m under the surface of the ocean. Existing in the cooler, darker waters that are yet to be affected by environmental stressors such as a changing climate. Forest of the Sea provides the rare opportunity for connection and felt responsibility towards these little-known ecosystem that exist in the twilight zone, between daylight and darkness, the seen and the unseen, the known and imagined.
We are proud to feature Ellie as the 2023 Alumni Excellence Awards Artist.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.