Environmental aspects of Judy Watson’s practice

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / bloom 2009 / Pigment, pastel and synthetic polymer paint on canvas / 219 x 147cm / The James C. Sourris AM Collection. Gift of James C. Sourris AM through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson/Copyright Agency

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / bloom 2009 / Pigment, pastel and synthetic polymer paint on canvas / 219 x 147cm / The James C. Sourris AM Collection. Gift of James C. Sourris AM through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson/Copyright Agency / View full image

On 11 March 2009, the multi-purpose container ship MV Pacific Adventurer caused Queensland’s largest oil spill when it travelled directly through the path of Cyclone Hamish, as a result, 30 tonnes of fuel oil, 30 tonnes of other fuel and 31 shipping containers, containing 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate — predominantly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertiliser — spilled into the Coral Sea, north of Moreton Bay, off the coast of south-east Queensland.

Judy Watson‘s Waanyi homelands stretch from the Northern Territory–Queensland border in the west to Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park in the east. Major rivers and creeks crisscross this territory, while underground springs connect its waterways to the Great Artesian Basin. It is said that if Boodjamulla, the ancestral Rainbow Serpent, ever leaves the gorge where he is sleeping, the water will vanish too. This essential connection between the land and its waterways is ever present in Judy Watson’s practice.

The environmental aspects of Watson’s practice cover multiple fronts, one being the depiction of algae blooms which starve the water of oxygen that are harmful to ecosystems. One cause of these blooms is the agricultural fertiliser deposited in waterways as a result of stormwater run-offs. Watson’s work bloom 2009 (illustrated) maps this occurrence across Moreton Bay.

Here, Watson depicts an aerial view of the coast where the spill occurred along the Sunshine Coast, towards northern Moreton Bay and surrounding Mulgumpin (Moreton Island). In this painting Watson has sullied the water in murky shades of black, representing the colossal slick of oil that spoiled the sea and shores. Watson’s artworks draw attention to delicate ecosystems that require our ongoing care and protection.

Judy Watson ‘bloom’ 2009

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / bloom 2009 / Pigment, pastel and synthetic polymer paint on canvas / 219 x 147cm / The James C. Sourris AM Collection. Gift of James C. Sourris AM through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson/Copyright Agency

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / bloom 2009 / Pigment, pastel and synthetic polymer paint on canvas / 219 x 147cm / The James C. Sourris AM Collection. Gift of James C. Sourris AM through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson/Copyright Agency / View full image

On display within ‘mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri‘ (tomorrow the tree grows stronger) at the Queensland Art Gallery 23 March until 11 August 2024.

The exhibition publication mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri: Judy Watson is available at the QAGOMA Stores and online.


The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Gallery stands in Brisbane. We pay respect to Aboriginal peoples, Torres Strait Islander peoples, and Elders past and present. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the immense creative contribution First Australians, as the first visual artists and storytellers, make to the art and culture of this country.

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