Arthur Wicks Australian artist

Entrance of the Virtual Gallery Wing where you will find details of the works exhibited at
Stella Downer Fine Art, 1/24 Wellington St, Waterloo, NSW, 2017
Opening, Tuesday 4 August to Saturday 29 August 2026.
Official opening to meet the artist Saturday 8 August, 3-5pm

OPENING HOURS:        Monday - Friday; 10am - 5pm
                                        Saturday;        11am - 5pm
                                        Sunday & Monday; closed

OFFICIAL OPENING:      SATURDAY 10 MAY 2025,    3 - 5 PM

LOCATION:                    1/24 Wellington St., Waterloo NSW 2017
PHONE:                          0402 018 283
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thoughts from the littoral zone
image	details	general commentary	artist's running commentary

	Title: Dawn, Durras Beach Materials: watercolour Date: 1968-70 / 2026 Dimensions: 55 x 77 cm	$800	Thoughts from the Littoral Zone These current works are images derived from an earlier period. They evoke thoughts and recollections of works executed on the New South Wales coast at Durras between 1975 and 1981. The low sand dunes of the beach protect the inland Durras Lake which is connected to the relentless surf action of the Tasman Sea. “Sand Memories”, the most extensive work at Durras was developed between 1975 and 1979. It explored the changing nature of the dunes; photographing them and later burying the photographs within the dunes. The “Sand Memories” performance on Durras Beach resulted in my burial inside the dunes for a short period of time. While in New York in 1989, the performance was extended by glueing photographs of the same dunes onto an intersection at Broome Street and West Broadway where they were systematically destroyed by the heavy traffic. In a later performance on Durras Beach, Measuring Stick", I was strapped to a large X structure and immersed in a fibreglass sleeve located between the low and high tide marks. The artist can sometimes find themselves in a dual situation where they are both onlooker and responding to the situation they are observing. Michael Haerdter (introductory essay, "Berliner Notizen", Berlin, December 1983) notes; "…. vulnerable to the power of the tide, Arthur Wicks is witness and actor at the same time. He is witness and victim who demonstrates to both himself and to us the frailty of being human …". Regardless of whether we are present to record the event or not, the entropy of the ocean in the meantime is relentlessly dissipating its energy. Nearly fifty years later it seems appropriate to reflect on the Durras environment and its influence on my art work by using a medium which is liquid, fragile versatile and immediate: Watercolour. Arthur Wicks July 2026
	Title: Ebb and Flow Materials: watercolour Date: 1968-70 / 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
	Title: Flotsam Trapped between Red and Green Materials: watercolour Date: 1968-70 / 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
	Title: Gale Warning Tasman Sea Materials: watercolour Date: 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
	Title: Seabird Resting on Durras Beach Materials: watercolour Date: 1968-70 / 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
	Title: Sunset Durras Beach Materials: watercolour Date: 1968-70 / 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
	Title: X Emerging from the Durras Beach Materials: watercolour Date: 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
	Title: Low Tide Durras Lake Materials: watercolour Date: 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
	Title: Wind Reshapng Sand Dunes, Durras Materials: watercolour Date: 2026 Dimensions: 80.5 x 59.5 cm	$800
For sales please contact Stella Downer Fine Art at info@stelladownerfineart.com.au

thoughts from the littoral zone

image

details

general commentary

artist's running commentary

Title: Dawn, Durras Beach

Materials: watercolour
Date: 1968-70 / 2026
Dimensions: 55 x 77 cm

$800

Thoughts from the Littoral Zone

These current works are images derived from an earlier period. They evoke thoughts and recollections of works executed on the New South Wales coast at Durras between 1975 and 1981. The low sand dunes of the beach protect the inland Durras Lake which is connected to the relentless surf action of the Tasman Sea.

“Sand Memories”, the most extensive work at Durras was developed between 1975 and 1979. It explored the changing nature of the dunes; photographing them and later burying the photographs within the dunes. The “Sand Memories” performance on Durras Beach resulted in my burial inside the dunes for a short period of time. While in New York in 1989, the performance was extended by glueing photographs of the same dunes onto an intersection at Broome Street and West Broadway where they were systematically destroyed by the heavy traffic.

In a later performance on Durras Beach, Measuring Stick", I was strapped to a large X structure and immersed in a fibreglass sleeve located between the low and high tide marks.
The artist can sometimes find themselves in a dual situation where they are both onlooker and responding to the situation they are observing.
Michael Haerdter (introductory essay, "Berliner Notizen", Berlin, December 1983) notes; "…. vulnerable to the power of the tide, Arthur Wicks is witness and actor at the same time. He is witness and victim who demonstrates to both himself and to us the frailty of being human …".

Regardless of whether we are present to record the event or not, the entropy of the ocean in the meantime is relentlessly dissipating its energy.

Nearly fifty years later it seems appropriate to reflect on the Durras environment and its influence on my art work by using a medium which is liquid, fragile versatile and immediate: Watercolour.

Arthur Wicks
July 2026