Sculptor Jo Elliott is a unique White Bluff Project collaborator - the only member of the team able to put herself in all three categories of the project’s focus - art, science and community.
Jo holds an Advanced Diploma in Visual Art, from the TAFE NSW but in her earlier professional life Jo completed a Bachelor of Science Degree specialising in coastal ecology and environmental management from the University of Wollongong. Jo worked in the field of environmental science for over 15 years in the private and government sectors both in Australia and abroad. As for community, she is currently employed by TAFE NSW as a visual arts and design teacher in the Creative Industries faculty at the Coffs Harbour TAFE campus.
Read more about Jo’s collaboration with Marine Biologist Dr Karina Hall in our News pages. Click on the photo to go straight to the story.
“There is a symbiotic relationship between art and science.” Jo explains. “Artists and scientists share a curiosity for the unknown, an appreciation for the beauty of the worlds they explore and an interest in creating something new. I believe the White Bluff Project will question and push boundaries in which we engage with our natural environment whilst at the same time making new connections and bringing different aspects of our community together.”
Consequently, Jo’s art combines her scientific knowledge and observational discipline with the endless and exciting possibilities of creative practice. She also confesses (and her CV shows) that a key driver in her creative work is the collaborative process, working with and learning from others and their perspectives.
“Collaboration between art and science is a personal passion. It helps in pushing boundaries with new materials and methods. Collaboration = exhilaration + conflict + excitement. There is vast creative potential when passionate minds come together in one place. Magic can happen.”
For the White Bluff Project that magic happened when Jo teamed up with Marine Biologist Dr Karina Hall and the pair of them, along with White Bluff Project artist Julie Nash went fishing for plankton in the waters off White Bluff.
“I’m inspired by the hidden world that we can’t see. The microscopic world – a secret world of shapes and forms. White Bluff for me is regions colliding, creating a magical morphing of diverse species and forms.”
The end product of this inspiration is Jo’s major work for the White Bluff Project exhibition due to open on October 31 at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery. It is a collection of multiple small sculptural forms representing the microscopic forms found in White Bluff’s marine environment.
“It has taken lots of experimentation but its been a highly engaging subject matter. I became more open to new perspectives and broadened my materials and techniques. At first, White Bluff felt like a really jagged, hard to access site. My first visit to White Bluff I encountered barriers, both physically and energetically, to accessing the site. But it opened up to me on each successive visit. Those barriers eroded away.”
Jo’s work always aims to draw attention and consideration to the wonders of the natural world and the extraordinary that happens in the every day. More so, her work is about inspiring people to think more deeply about the natural world that sustains us and the beauty and fragility of this world that is continually threatened by human impact.
“The White Bluff Project exhibition will be diverse and exciting,” Jo promises. “Lots of colour and forms with fresh perspectives of the Coffs Coast.”
An exhibition, we hope, where magic happens.
