Rory Lewis The brink of biota

‘Biota’: the animal and plant life of a region. I spent much of my childhood at Waihi Beach, New Zealand. Rising sea levels are devastating the species that nest in its dunes. I pressed rocks, shells, feathers and leaves into clay, and created screen prints using an underglaze of maps overwritten with scientific information about the loss of species. From these forms I made stamps for years between 1870 and 2018 and pillars that represent measurements of the sea level rising. The species that thrive in my memories are now on the brink: their loss is the loss of the biota.

Influencing artists:
Janet Laurence