2023 ARTIST BIOS | Bella Deary

/ / Artist Bios 2023

About Bella Deary

Bella Deary (she/her) is a Meanjin-based visual artist whose art practice gathers influence from ecological philosophy and marine science to promote the equality of all life forms. Her large scale installations and video artworks respond to the critical issue of climate change by engaging with themes of interspecies entanglement and symbiosis. Bella’s current PhD research involves a collaboration with UQ marine ecologists who study coral communities in Moreton Bay, and is supported by an Australian Government RTP Scholarship. Bella has exhibited widely throughout Brisbane, Sydney, the Gold Coast, Caboolture, and the Sunshine Coast, and is a co-director of Nextdoor ARI.

The artist would like to acknowledge the following UQ marine ecologists for their invaluable consultation in the making of this work: Dr Gal Eyal and Dr Nicholas Hammerman. The artist would also like to acknowledge her QUT PhD supervisory team for their continual guidance: Dr Keith Armstrong and Dr Rachael Haynes. John Walker. Caitlin Mansfield. 

 

2023 SWELL ARTWORK – The Symbiont
 
‘The Symbiont’ (2023) comprises three inflated latex sculptures, depicting a series of enlarged coral polyps. The sculptures subtly inflate and deflate and showcase a gradient of colour. This alludes to the expulsion of coral’s symbiont (microscopic zooxanthellae algae) which results in coral’s loss of colour and ability to photosynthesise. The artwork aims to shed light on the crucial role symbiosis plays in maintaining coral life forms, and the environmental degradation that leads to the breakdown of this relationship. It is the product of a longstanding collaboration with UQ marine ecologists.
 
Socials:
 
Instagram: @bella__frances
 

Website: belladeary.com

Come and see for yourself at SWELL Sculpture Festival, Pacific Parade, Currumbin 8th – 17th September