Sullivan+Strumpf is pleased to present Stilling, a new body of work by Sydney-based artist Lara Merrett. Guided by a lifelong engagement with the ocean as both swimmer and artist, the exhibition brings together luminous paintings created with pigments and dyes made by Merrett from natural materials, including the over-abundant long-spined sea urchin.

For many years, Merrett has explored the relationship between painting and the natural world through an immersive, process-driven practice. In Stilling, this investigation turns toward Sydney Harbour and the fragile marine ecosystems that exist beneath its surface. Developed through ongoing research and collaboration with marine scientists, the exhibition captures the colours, movements, and interconnected systems of the underwater environment.

At the centre of Merrett’s new body of works for Stilling, is the long-spined sea urchin, Centrostephanus rodgersii, a native species whose increasing abundance has become a significant ecological challenge along Australia's south-eastern coastline.

Working alongside members of The Sydney Institute of Marine Science’s Project Restore, and from Operation Crayweed, Merrett harvested sea urchins as part of restoration efforts and developed a unique process for transforming ground urchin spines into a rich purple pigment. Through this act of material translation, the artist turns a living element of the marine environment into the very substance of painting.

“What is really fascinating is that sea urchins can't be pigeonholed. They're native to Sydney, yet they're out of control, and they're invasive in other areas in Australia too. Yet, when you handle one, they're just exquisite; they have their own beauty and color and iridescence,” Merrett comments. “As an activist and artist, this is what my research is about. How do I show these interconnected systems of ecology, extraction, restoration and care? Work with these organic materials and communicate multidisciplinary ideas?”.