Foraging for Mermaid Treasures: Artwork from the South Island

Marina Cousins

As an abstract artist based in Victoria, I've been creating ocean-inspired jewelry and mixed media designs. I’m drawn to experimental processes and aim to repurpose materials, weaving sustainability into my practice.

The ocean has always called to me—first at my family’s cabin on Gossip Island, where I spent childhood days exploring tide lines and channeling my inner mermaid. Since moving to Victoria in 2019, daily visits to the beach have become a grounding ritual. Foraging for “mermaid treasures”—sea glass, shells, and forgotten sparkles—I imagine their second life in art.

My summer collection reflects these landscapes, using repurposed chains, charms, and found objects. The crashing rhythm of ferries and cruise ships off Dallas Road echoes through the work, layered with memory and place. I revisit my father’s old fishing tackle box—shiny fish reflectors, hooks, pearls—and wrap a wishbone in wire for luck. My mother’s abalone shell shimmers in homage.

These pieces hold stories of the South Island—an intimate archive of land, ocean, and lineage. My work is an echo of home, shaped by waves, worn by wind, and guided by tide.