Cyclone Jasper remembered through unique art exhibition in Cairns

Season Four of the highly anticipated exhibition at Cairns-based Northsite Contemporary Arts Centre is in full swing with locals being encouraged to visit the display before it’s too late.

Wrapping up on October 12th, the latest instalment of the series asks us to join the artists as they delve ever deeper into the relationship between man and planet and how we interact with and shape our surroundings

The exhibition is made up of four individual displays by artists from across the Far North including Douglas Shire resident, Jill Chism. In Remnants, Ms Chism brings to light a dialogue between man-kind and the natural world and asks us to understand the connectedness between the two. 

The majority of her work references local events such as flooding from Cyclone Jasper and the housing problem and its impact on the environment. The Oak Beach-based artist focuses on preserving and taking care of the natural environment with 90% of the exhibition created from waste collected from builders skips, donated wood and objects collected from her surroundings.

Her medium of choice reflects a changing environment and asks  us to consider not only what we take away from a holiday in the region, but also what we leave behind.

“The idea behind Remnants is exactly that, it is what’s left after we travel to a new place and switching your perception on what and how we see things,” she explained. 

Of particular interest to locals is a large 3.6 metre by 2.4 metre high assemblage created in 2003 titled Postcard from Port Douglas. The work features a scene from Port Douglas Beach of tourists engaging with the sea and using hired umbrellas and plastic chairs created from plastic waste found on Four Mile Beach. 

Her latest work on display reflects the devastating floods that took place after Cyclone Jasper earlier this year, with the artist using branches and debris collected throughout the disaster and recomposing them to tell a tale.

“The unprecedented flooding and devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Jasper had a catastrophic impact on communities and natural environments across Far North Queensland. An unprecedented amount of debris was cast ashore on my local beach, and some of these branches and sticks are part of the exhibition,” she said. “These are remnants of people's lives during that time that tell stories about renewal and resilience,” she said. 

The three other exhibitions SKIN, Sounds Of The Tropics and Intimate Worlds are just as intriguing with each bringing a unique way of assessing the world around us through their selected medium. 

Season Four is running at Northsite Contemporary Arts Centre, Cairns until October 12th. For more information, visit www.northsite.org.au 

This project was made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, provided through Regional Arts Australia and administered in Queensland by Flying Arts Alliance. Additionally it received support from the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) with Douglas Shire Council.