Janene Porter
The Healthy Mangrove
 
61 x 78 (frame) mixed media (ink, gesso, pastel)
 
We used to use a dinghy to explore the tributary creeks and bays of Sydney harbour. I took some video footage of middle harbour, and loved the image I used to make this picture, showing a clear running tidal stream with many healthy mangrove shoots bursting out of the water. I imagine that's how the Cooks River once was, and hope that it can be cleaned up to the same extent, so the same fish, rays, and herons appear to anyone who might lean over the side of a little boat, and the mangrove habitat once again thrives and is allowed to clean itself. We often use the footpaths to walk along the Greenway now and admire the reflections, the depths and the life of the water and I imagine how it was for the Wangal and Eora people when the land was clean, productive, less disturbed and more productive.