Yasmin Smith, Golden Kelp, 2023, kelp ash patina on bronze, 53.00 x 53.00 x 40.00 cm, edition 5 + 2AP, TCG22790
(photo: Nick de Lorenzo)

Commissioned by Mosman Art Gallery

Golden Kelp is the first time the artist has transferred her techniques and approach from ceramics to bronze. The life-sized cast is made from kelp gathered from the foreshore at Koreé (Chowder Bay) and patinaed using the ash of the original sea kelp. This is an extension of Yasmin’s long-running research-based approach bringing new understandings to the landscape and its ecology. Kelp is an integral organism in the aquatic environment and forms part of the Great Southern Reef which is a key carbon sink, playing a crucial role in the maintaining the healthy balance of our atmosphere. Kelp is an important food source and its ashes have been used historically for a number of industrial applications.