Chrysalis

This artwork, titled “Chrysalis" communicates the idea that kelp forests, like the pupa of a butterfly, require protection to transform and endure. The work is an acrylic painting executed using a surrealistic impasto technique, employing thick, mosaic-like layers to construct both material depth and conceptual urgency. The composition depicts a vibrant underwater kelp forest inhabited by geometric fish, juxtaposed with a ruined classical temple sinking beneath a turbulent wave and a fractured, unforgiving sun. The submerging temple serves as a metaphor for the collapse of ancient, life-sustaining systems, echoing the ongoing degradation of kelp forest ecosystems. Swirling water and fragmented light suggest destabilising environmental forces such as pollution and rising sea temperatures. At the centre, a crystalline, weeping eye enclosed within a fragile bubble functions as both witness and lament, articulating sorrow, vulnerability, and ecological consciousness. Through this work, I seek to emphasise the urgency of protecting UK kelp forests, which are essential to marine biodiversity and coastal defence.