As climate change increasingly threatens our ocean landscapes, 'The rush' is, at its heart, an image of cautious hope. Subjected to powerful tidal currents, these delicate oceanic florae remain fluid and adaptive. They bend but do not break. In this quiet expression of resilience, fragments of detritus catch the light, creating radiant spectrums of colour beneath the water’s surface—fleeting rainbows that suggest the possibility of renewal.
The ocean is a place where I find solace and beauty: a shifting, immersive world of refuge and wonder. Yet this connection is tempered by dismay at the accelerating destruction of seaweed forests and seagrass meadows—fragile ecosystems that sustain extraordinary life beneath the surface. 'The rush' speaks to endurance and transformation, holding in tension the beauty that remains and the uncertainty of what may yet be saved.
Louise is a photo media artist living and working on Awabakal Country in the coastal town of Newcastle, NSW. Her tertiary and post-grad studies in the ecological sciences, combined with fascination for the natural world, inform her creative practice. The play of natural light, storytelling and emotive expression are drivers for her work. More recently, she can be regularly found submerged in saltwater with camera in hand.
Louise has achieved awards for her portrait, landscape, documentary & architecture photography, including finalist berths in the Bowness Photography Prize (2020), Head On Photo Awards (2021, 2024), and Australian Photography Awards (2024, shortlisted – experimental).
Louise regularly exhibits in local galleries. She is a member of the WH!P Collective (Women of the Hunter in Photography @whip_collective) and has curated exhibitions for Newcastle Art Space, a not-for-profit art gallery and studio space where she also sits on the Board.
