Fauna Flesh Flora

Fauna Flesh Flora explores the Oceanic Gothic via the surreal physiology of marine flora and fauna endemic to Australian waters. The abyssal benthic zone of the ocean becomes an uncanny valley, where life forms take on human qualities and interspecies consciousness manifests. The graphite drawings depict hybridised creatures in strange environments that subtly allude to humanity’s evolutionary, oceanic origins. The work simultaneously draws from biology and the film genre of body horror to consider the abject qualities of real and imagined corporeal forms. Fauna Flesh Flora highlights the inter-connectedness of marine ecosystems and our growing awareness of the impact human beings have on the deepest and most remote parts of the ocean.

This suite of drawings was shown as a part of a collaborative exhibition with artist Anna Nazzari at Turner Galleries. See the full exhibition here.

Ascidian Knee [left] Echinoderm Dentada [centre] Sponges are the Sister Group to all other Animals [right]
All works by Erin Coates, graphite on paper, 2019

The Ocular Superiority of Cephalapods, graphite on paper, 64 x 50cm, 2019

Echinoderm Dentada, graphite on paper, 44 x 50 cm, 2019

Ear Finger Zoanthid, graphite on paper, 44 x 51 cm, 2019

Gastrapod Dentada Vs Favid Parasite, graphite on paper, 44 x 51 cm, 2019

Fauna Flesh Flora, graphite on paper, 75 x 90 cm, 2019

Ascidian Knee, graphite on paper, 51 x 40cm, 2017