Coral Edition.

In 2021, I travelled to an Island in the Indian Ocean. I like to beachcomb and admire natural objects – stones, driftwood, shells, seaweed - yet what struck me on this journey was the intense volume of bleached coral skeleton washed up or evident on the seabed. I hadn’t witnessed this on such a scale before. Like so much of the natural world, coral reefs are under relentless stress, trauma, and destruction from humanity’s impact on the planet. When water becomes too warm, corals expel the algae living in their tissue causing them to pale and potentially perish from starvation. Coral reefs absorb energy from waves and protect coastlines. They also teem with diverse life. I felt an urge to respond with a series of paintings that captured the fragility and vulnerable beauty of this delicate, shifting underwater eco-system. I also wanted to explore my fears of its rapid demise. Thin layers of paint and mark making build texture or are washed back to reveal intimate organic forms that emerge, connect, or hide in the canvas scape. There is a ghostly stillness in dialogue with areas of agitation and a sense of sleepwalking towards catastrophe.
Rebekah Tuluie, November 2022