Seaweed Artist Sees Red

Seaweed Artist Sees Red

As you know the state of our kelp forests is a major concern for me. Here's why: Kelp forests play a key role in the health of our seas and the air we breathe as well as protecting our coasts and supporting an amazing array of marine life.
For this installation I went a bit wild.  Usually I let the natural colours of the seaweed set the tone but the vibrant red of the phone box gallery made me think differently. Red is a warning colour and there's no doubt that our kelp forests are in danger. We urgently need to protect our coasts more effectively so the kelp can in turn help us to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency."

The artworks are made of washed up kelp stipes shaped into twisting forms, painted and suspended. They are combined with mirror to provide a visual connection between us and the kelp and provoke self-reflection about our wider relationship with the natural world.

One of the main ideas behind my work is 'collaborative survival' which is a way of working together with the natural world for mutual benefit - give and take rather just take. A balanced sustainable and regenerative approach is the only way forward if we are to continue to flourish.

REVIEW IN THE CRAIL ORBIT June 2024
Prominently, on Cally’s website we have a quote from Anais Nin… ‘we don’t see things as they are - we see things as we are’. Ooh, straight away we’re in a different world from the ubiquitous seaside-scene, what-did-I-buy-that-for art and into something more philosophical, more about perception. Cally, which she subtly transforms, dries, varnishes, paints, dresses in copper and so on to instantiate works of art. The idea that the universe does not exist solely for the human race is central to her work, that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that the unchecked grinding consumption machine that we live in is perhaps an outmoded fiction - can we live better? It’s easy to take seaweed for granted, sometimes it’s no more than a smelly nuisance, but here we are guided to look, to appreciate the textures, to appreciate the colours and the form of seaweed.