Kelp and the Sentient Sea, by local artists Kim McDonald and Jasmine Susic is showing at Berninneit Art Gallery from September 13 to October 26.
A new exhibition by local artists Kim McDonald and Jasmine Susic, titled Kelp and the Sentient Sea opens at Berninneit Art Gallery on September 13.
Inspired by the extraordinary marine life of the Bass Coast and the Yallock Bulluk Marine Park, the exhibition explores the beauty, power and sentience of the ocean through a collaborative practice spanning printmaking, film, dance and installation.
Both artists are deeply connected to the Bunurong and Gunai Kurnai oceans and coastlines, where they live. Their work creates a sensory experience that heightens awareness of kelp forests and the sea’s life force, energy and dynamism.
Jasmine Susic said immersing themselves daily in the local ocean environment inspires their artistic practice.
“In our work, printmaking becomes performance and performance becomes printed marks made on surfaces. Our disciplines cross over, intersect and overlap, not unlike the forces of oceanic environments and their elements.
“The aim for our exhibition is to create an immersive, inclusive sensory space that heightens ocean awareness within the Bass Coast community, by sharing our interpretation of the mystery and wonder of our coexistence with the kelp forests of the Great Southern Reef.”
Jasmine is a Bunurong-based contemporary dancer who works across improvision, installation, performance and dance theatre. She is currently touring the award-winning Melbourne Fringe Festival show, “Running into the Sun”.
Kim McDonald is an interdisciplinary artist who was born in Leongatha. She has studied printmaking, painting and drawing and her work is represented in private and public collections. She is a three-time winner of The Great Southern Portrait Prize and a finalist in The National Monoprint Prize (2021, 2023, 2025).
The exhibition is an intergenerational collaboration, with Kim and Jasmine being aunty and niece.
There is a special performance and artist talk on Saturday October 25, from 2pm – 4pm.
Exhibition details
Kelp and the Sentient Sea – Kim McDonald and Jasmine Susic
Berninneit Art Gallery, September 13 to October 26.
Free entry.
Open Monday – Friday, 9.30am – 5pm. Weekends 10am – 4pm.
