Year 9 and 10 Ceramics - Christies Beach High School

Year 9 and 10 students from Christies Beach High School created these beautiful ceramic coral sculptures inspired by artworks from the AGSA education resources collection. Studying the hand-carved Whale Teeth by Anna Nazzari and the Ghost Nets of the Ocean sculptures by artists from Erub Arts Collaborative students discussed the increasing demand for conversation of corals which are exposed to damage worldwide.

Deeply connected to the Noarlunga Reef students concluded that corals are dying off at an alarming rate and that the local marine environment is under threat. Holding immense ecological significance by providing critical habitat for a variety of marine species and acting as a natural barrier against storms, it is a treasure worth protecting.

To raise awareness for this environmental issue and to inspire change through art, students created ceramics of colourful living corals and of bleached dying corals and arranged those together in this stunning installation to recreate the fragile beauty of the reef.

It is essential that the medium of these works be ceramic, as calcium carbonate is both the substance of coral skeletons and a common ceramic glaze ingredient. Not only does the chemical structure of these sculptures parallel that of a natural reef, but also the fragility of the ceramics that break easily if improperly handled, just as the delicate bodies of living reef organisms do. This shared fragility is fundamental to the message of the work.

Renate Witte, Arts Coordinator CBHS