Agnes Wotton Jr

Sea Anemone 2018

Acrylic on canvas
60 x 90 cm

About the Work

Sea life plays a significant role in local culture and stories for Bwgcolman (Palm Island) residents. Agnes Wotton Jr has an affinity with sea anemones that move gently, enchanting her in silent contemplation towards inner peace as a “way of helping” her in everyday life. Sea anemones typically stay in one place during their lifetime and attach to reefs and other structures, only relocating if their environment is inhospitable. These sea creatures are valuable bioindicators of coral reef pollution because they can accumulate trace elements of contaminants and microplastics through absorption or ingestion.

About the Artist

Agnes Wotton Jr lives and creates art on the remote Aboriginal community of Bwgcolman (Palm Island). She is a proud Yidinji woman through her mother’s side and Kuku Yalanji through her father. Agnes is a self-taught artist with a strong affinity to colour and layered repetition, which she uses to convey particularly important elements within her local environment. She has been actively exhibiting her distinctive anemone paintings since 2019 and gained wide recognition after winning the People’s Choice Award at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair in 2020. As a Saltwater woman, Agnes is culturally connected to the coastal regions of North Queensland and the reef surrounding Palm Island.