Ellarose Savage Born 1969 in Townsville, Australia Meriam Mir people Lives and works on Erub (Darnley Island), Australia

Florence Mabel Gutchen Born 1961 on Thursday Island, Torres Strait, Australia Kulkalgaw Ya people Lives and works on Erub (Darnley Island), Australia

Racy Oui-Pitt Born 1953 in Torres Strait, Australia Meriam Mir people Lives and works on Erub (Darnley Island), Australia

Lynnette Griffiths Born 1963 in Stratford on Avon, England Lives and works in Cairns, Australia

Marion Gaemers Born 1958 in Sydney, Australia Lives and works in Townsville, Australia

Erub, also known as Darnley Island, is one of 22 inhabited islands in the Torres Strait and home to one of the most remote communities in Australia. The tropical volcanic island is also the location of Erub Arts, founded more than 20 years ago by a small collective of artists from four tribal groups seeking to preserve and revitalise traditional Erub culture through a variety of artistic forms, including printmaking, jewellery, textiles, weaving, ceramics and the creation of traditional dance ornaments such as shari (traditional headdresses). Erub artists have been working with reclaimed fishing nets since 2010, when GhostNets Australia came to Darnley Island to conduct a workshop and invited local artists to apply traditional weaving techniques to a new medium.

GhostNets Australia is an environmental conservation agency that operates under the simple philosophy of ‘saltwater people working together’. Originating in Southeast Asia, ghost nets are lost or abandoned fishing nets that remain in the ocean, sometimes for decades. Drifting with the prevailing currents, they are a lingering, deathly presence; killing indiscriminately and wreaking havoc on all forms of marine life, many of which are threatened or in danger of extinction. Collection and disposal of the synthetic nets is a huge logistical problem for Indigenous communities throughout the remote areas of Australia affected by the issue. GhostNets Australia supports Indigenous rangers from more than 40 different clan groups in the protection of their lands and the ocean, by providing training and the necessary resources to deal with the menace. In recent years the agency has worked in conjunction with art centres to recycle the nets pulled from the ocean, raising awareness of the environmental problem and creating a new genre of art focused on sustainability and conservation.

Solwata, 2015–16, is a new commission presented at the Embassy of Spirits, created for the 20th Biennale of Sydney through a collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists. Working together, Ellarose Savage, Florence Mabel Gutchen, Racy Oui-Pitt, Lynnette Griffiths and Marion Gaemers have used the ghost net medium to create a large, wall-based installation, drawing inspiration from Indigenous stories and cultural traditions, a shared connection to the ocean and a deep concern for the marine environment. Through their collaboration the artists transform a serious ecological issue into an artwork that evokes a shared vision of land, sea and culture, communicating an important statement about our combined responsibility for the welfare of the environment.

Florence Gutchen

Exhibitions include ‘Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award’, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (2015); ‘Our Island, Our Sea … an ocean away’, ReDot Gallery, Singapore (2015); ‘Saltwater Country’, Gold Coast City Gallery (2014); ‘Best Work on Paper’, Gab Titu Art Awards, Thursday Island (2013); and ‘Le Point de Papunya’, Musée du Montparnasse, Paris (2012).

Ellarose Savage

Exhibitions include ‘Best Work on Paper’, Gab Titu Art Awards, Thursday Island (2015); ‘Our Island, Our Sea … an ocean away’, ReDot Gallery, Singapore (2015); ‘Sorority’, Tanks Gallery, Cairns (2015); ‘Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award’, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (2015); and ‘Saltwater Country’, Gold Coast City Gallery (2014).

Marion Gaemers

Exhibitions include ‘Ghostnet fish’, ReDot Gallery, Singapore (2015); ‘Super Size Bling’, KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns (2015); ‘Sorority’, Tanks Gallery, Cairns (2015); ‘Growth’, Bundaberg Regional Gallery (2011); and ‘Tree Threads’, Butterfactory, Cooroy (2010).

Racy Oui-Pitt

Exhibitions include ‘Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award’, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (2015); ‘Our Island, Our Sea … an ocean away’, ReDot Gallery, Singapore (2015); ‘Sorority’, Tanks Gallery, Cairns (2015); and ‘Saltwater Country’, Gold Coast City Gallery (2014).

Lynnette Griffiths

Exhibitions include ‘Esplanart Public Art’, Cairns (2010, 2012 and 2014); ‘Sea Journeys – New Caledonia, return voyage’, curator of exhibition focusing on Erub Arts Centre artists, KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns (2013); and ‘Melting Pot’, Biennial National Ceramic Exhibition, Cairns (2009).