DRAWN TO THE DEEP: Local Artists Reflect the Fragility and Beauty of Our Oceans

The sea has long captivated the human imagination. For three Mahurangi Artist Network members—Anne-Marie Basquin, Alysn Midgelow-Marsden, and Andrea Ventling—the marine environment is not only a source of inspiration but also a call to care, reflect, and act.

Through photography, sculpture, and painting, these artists create work that echoes with the rhythms of the ocean and reminds us of the delicate balance beneath the surface—where beauty and biodiversity now face increasing pressure from human activity.

Andrea Ventling: A Painter’s Dive into Memory and Meaning

Kingi © Andrea Ventling 2025

Swiss-born painter Andrea Ventling came to New Zealand with the sea in her sights—and in her soul. With a PhD in fish biology and a childhood filled with aquariums and Mediterranean rock pools, the ocean has long shaped her inner landscape. It was only natural that her artwork would follow suit. “I started painting birds—everyone loves birds,” Andrea laughs, “but I soon realised I needed a subject that involved my whole being. The underwater world gives me that—it’s where science, memory, and emotion meet.”

Her paintings are more than beautiful seascapes. They aim to evoke the dreamlike, immersive sensation of being submerged: the flickering light, the disorienting silence, the dance of colour in motion. “Being underwater is like a meditative experience, changing colours, shifting light and constant movement grab your attention until your sense of yourself almost disappears” she says. “It can be an exciting and calming experience at the same time and my hope is that my artwork invites viewers to dive into this foreign world where they too can experience that wonder.”

Andrea’s recent focus has turned toward vanishing kelp forests—vital ecosystems under threat around the world—and the delicate balance of marine life. One recent commission, depicting a school of fish being chased by a kingfish, left her with mixed emotions.

“Kingi’s are under immense pressure from anglers and free-divers. Populations are getting smaller, and the big ones—those trophies—are becoming rare. I keep asking: can we curb our appetite and preserve this beautiful species?”

Anne-Marie Basquiat: Framing Care and Conservation

From her home base in Leigh, photographer and painter Anne-Marie Basquin finds both solace and purpose in the intertidal world just offshore. Her recent inclusion in the Women’s Work 2025 exhibition, (In)visible, showcased the hauntingly quiet image of a kelp bed at Te Kohuroa Matheson Bay—a site where the Te Kohuroa Rewilding Initiative is actively restoring marine life by removing kina in overabundance. “This photograph peers through the ocean’s mirrored edge,” Anne-Marie explains, “to frame this ever-changing space at the intersection of observation and ecological dynamism, of women’s work and the caretaking of our ecosystems.”

Untitled © Anne Marie Basquin

Her artistic practice blends image-making with ecological attentiveness. A frequent snorkeler, Anne-Marie speaks of a slow but deepening awareness, “I’ve been noticing new species on my last few snorkels at Goat Island. They’ve been there all along, but I am only beginning to see them. Seeing more clearly underwater takes time—as the fog of civilised life slowly recedes.”

She’s currently working with a colour palette she calls “the gathering hours,” inspired by twilight dives: mandarin and lavender skies, the deep navy of high tide, and the rust-reds of crabs on dark rock. It’s an invitation into a world that’s both intimate and immense.

Alysn Midgelow-Marsden: Sculpting the Unseen Currents

For Alysn Midgelow-Marsden, the sea isn’t only home—it’s memory, movement, and science woven into form. A trained marine biologist and biochemist, Alysn now works from her studio near Tāwharanui Peninsula, where the natural rhythms of coastal life quietly pulse through her textile sculptures and mixed media installations.

“I now realise how deeply the rhythms and forms of the marine world have continued to inform my work, quietly influencing how I see, sense, and create,” Alysn shares. “My involvement with Experiencing Marine Reserves, where I volunteer as a snorkel guide, has brought me back into close contact with the ocean’s living systems.  These encounters have filtered into my artwork not always as literal depictions, but as abstracted impressions: the fluidity of currents, the layering of growth and erosion, the fine textures found in microscopic life. Over time, my practice has evolved from wall-based works to sculptural, translucent forms that echo the complexity and delicacy of marine environments. That early scientific training continues to shape how I observe and make sense of the world, and through my art I hope to offer viewers a space to reflect, sense, and be drawn—perhaps gently—into the wonder of what lies beneath the surface both literally and figuratively.”

Above Left: Held Between Light & Water © Alysn Midgelow Marsden

Above Right: Itmake © Alysn Midgelow Marsden

Art as Witness and Call to Action

Together, Anne-Marie, Alysn, and Andrea form a quiet chorus of witness—artists who immerse themselves not just in beauty but in responsibility. Their work reveals what many of us overlook: that our actions on land have consequences beneath the waves, and that care—like art—requires sustained attention.

Their practices remind us that the sea is not a distant elsewhere, but part of who we are, especially here in Mahurangi where our coastline plays such an important role for our region. Through their eyes, we are invited to look again, more closely, and to feel more deeply our connection to the marine world—and the urgent need to protect it.