Candid shots of artists exhibition preparations.Here is a behind-the-scenes look at artists exhibition preparation for the Low Isles Sugar Wharf display. Sub-titled, 'a fragile sanctuary' the exhibition premieres at the full moon in November, when coral spawning right across the breadth of the Great Barrier Reef occurs at full moon. Truly full moon magic at work! Low Island is a minute sand cay, with a tropical marine climate, housing an automated lighthouse, a University of Queensland laboratory and a permanent caretaker, so one would expect to see lighthouse paintings, perhaps wildlife sculptures as well as references to the need to protect the Great Barrier Reef. Woody Island, on the other side of the coral lagoon, is mostly mangroves and for much of the year is a closed sanctuary for the the Imperial Pied (or Torres Strait) pigeons, which migrate there in October each year. 
Incredibly, one of each pair of pigeons sets off each morning to feast on rainforest fruit on the mainland, returning at dusk with food for their mate and chicks. Artists exhibition plans, although enjoyable are also a lot of hard work! Much as the pigeons are driven by instinct and the need to survive, so artists need to make their art.Artists exhibition preparations... 
Dwarfed by the lighthouse, Louise Collier works on an oil painting of the trusty beacon, whose light so often guides her home. On the right is her just finished painting "Golden Dawn after Coral Spawn". Here, environmental artist, Jill Chism, arranges shoes on the beach at Low Island. Jill plans several installations on the island as part of the exhibition and will photograph them for inclusion in the artists exhibition at the Sugar Wharf.
Her involvement in the Low Isles exhibition is part of a wider project about sea-shores. 
Judy Richards' whimsical comment on the Low Isles Protection Society members in their blue "stinger" suits is a light-hearted but accurate observation. 
Christine Eyres became enthralled when researching the history of Low Isles. Here she is working in her Cairns studio on the series about Ellen Hannah, whose husband and two children drifted off from the island in a tiny flat-bottomed dinghy in 1907 and were never seen again.Jill Booth is busily screen-printing a length of silk ready for the artists' exhibition. On the right is a close-up of the fabric, a design based on the "painted cray", a large and brightly coloured tropical lobster. 
Anne Engdahl underpaints her oil painting, "Weather Watch", seen on right. Linda Jackson, under the guidance of the Kuku Yalanji aboriginal people, has been collecting red mangrove roots for dyeing silk. Here you see the roots, fabric in a dye bath and then the spectacular results as the fabric is translated into fashion. 
Another one of the artists working on their entries is Gail Shaw. Passionate about watercolour, she is often accompanied by her small dog, Ting, seen here giving encouragement to her mistress. 
My first visit to Low Isles was with Port Douglas artist, Tania Heben. The sheer number of Torres Strait or Imperial Pied pigeons and the constant mournful "cooing" as they nested in the bare beach almond trees or on nearby Woody Island, made a lasting impression on us.Here Tania recalls that October as she works on her sketch "Imperial Home". 
Helen Low completing her mixed media painting "The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife", which comments on the loneliness and isolation of women who accompanied their husbands to remote island lighthouse stations in the early part of last century. 
Anna Curtis works on her lino block for "Underwater Wonderland". For a detailed explanation of this process check out this relief printing page. I hope that you enjoy this artists' exhibition of tropical island pictures.
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