Cherry Venture - Ashes to Ashes

This series is a theme of reviewing the fate of abandoned human manufactured objects in the natural environment. "Deconstructing Cherry Venture" focuses on deconstructing the shipwreck "Cherry Venture".

In this series, nature seeks its revenge in entropy by rightfully returning these objects to their constituent elemental dust. The Cherry Venture was driven ashore in 1973 during a violent storm. The stranded vessel high on the sand resisted every attempt to be returned to its sea duties, clearly choosing to become the accidental tourist attraction on the Noosa Northshore Sands. Abandoned to its fate – the mercy of the natural forces, the Cherry Venture slowly yet inevitably eroded and corroded into rust and dust. Sand, salt, water and air combined in an irritable assault on the integrity of all the structures forming the ship.

When seen by the artist in 2000, the Cherry Venture was a mere shadow of the cargo vessel it once was. However, the weathering processes acting on the structures, along with the richness of the colours, texture and patterns left in the decay, and graffiti where tourists felt the irresistible need to leave their mark, created their own rich beauty. This beauty is the inspiration for this series of paintings.

The Cherry Venture was removed from the Teewah Beach in February/March 2007 because of environmental danger to the public and shipped to China to be used for scrap metal. This danger was caused when the erosion and corrosion eventually left the engine exposed, sending asbestos into the atmosphere.