Jacqui Malins

PROJECT - Drift Oyster

I learned of the existence of ostrea angasi, also known as mud, flat or drift oysters, at the Davidson Whaling Station, south of Eden in New South Wales, in 2022. I was there as a participant in the ANU School of Art and Design’s Sharing Stories Art Exchange, and we were being guided by writer and naturalist John Blay. Above the old wharf, with its rusted whaling kettles, is a shellfish deposit (midden). It would have been the perfect spot to enjoy a seafood banquet, looking out over the inlet and open ocean. A huge thickly layered shell caught my eye, protruding from the grit. I picked it up and asked what it was. ‘Mud oyster’, said Blay. ‘They used to live in the inlet, but they don’t anymore, probably because of siltation from the timber industry’. This became the focus for my investigation, and a video, paper sculpture and zine were the result - see below.

This project is continuing into 2024. I have since been working with machine embroidered lace, and gave a street performance at the Narooma Oyster Festival alongside Elise May, Deb Cleland and Amelia Nicholson, delivering poetry about the lost and potential restoration of native oyster reefs.

I am looking forward to some intensive working time on this project as an artist-in-residence at the Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany WA in August 2024.