Seaweed Dreaming Wallabi Beach

As a young boy I lived with my family on a seaside farm at Saltwater, which now has been returned to our people, Biripi, the Traditional Owners of this magnificent place. 

Directly opposite our former farm is a beach called Wallabi. It is on the northern side of the Saltwater headland which became quite famous among the board-riding fraternity because of the wonderful waves it produced and was named "green point". 

But in the deeper waters and among the dangerous rocks that formed along the point, grew in abundance Seaweed, algae and plankton; often giving off incredible colours, depending on the season, the sun's rays and the tides. 

I recall after many wild storms the seaweed and plankton would be "ripped" from their rocky crevices and wash upon the beach and within a few days the rotting stench driven onto our nearby farm by the onshore winds would become unbearable. 

Our family and friends would help in a clean-up and we would carry the seaweed onto our fathers old dodge truck where he would take it further into the bush out of harms way and let it rot naturally into the surrounds. 

Some of the plankton was so large, like a small tree branch that I would struggle but determined to carry it over my shoulder and drag it to our father's truck. 

Today, much of the seaweed had disappeared, and does not grow in the same abundance as some sixty years ago, but when I often visit this beautiful beach, the smell from those yesteryears incredibly remain in my nostrils. 

This painting depicts my memories. The white dots represent the swirling sea and the blue/green dots, the pieces of seaweed floating around, which is a natural food source for the many fish that harbors throughout the rocky headland. 

Medium: Acrylic Paint on Stretched Canvas. 

Painted: 2007