Coastal Noir: Evolution of a Vision
The Beginning - Noir et Blanc
Coffs Coast, 2017
In 2017, I was invited to exhibit alongside two abstract oil painters.
The theme: Noir et Blanc, black and white.
What emerged wasn’t simply monochrome photography.
It was a discovery.
Nature transformed.
The familiar coastline becomes abstraction.
Real places shifting into imagined worlds.
This was the beginning of what would become the Coastal Noir Collection, created across the Coffs Coast:
Sapphire Beach • Moonee Beach • Macauleys Headland • The Jetty • The Harbour • The Breakwall • Gallows Beach • Coffs Creek • Boambee Headland • Sawtell • Bonville Headland • Mick’s Retreat
The interplay of camera, water, mist, wind, and reflective surfaces formed something new, natural abstraction.
These scenes weren’t edited into mystery.
They were mysterious.
“Sometimes the landscape reveals what the eye alone cannot see."
Love and Disaster
Coffs Harbour Exhibition, September 2017
The works were printed large. Beautiful. Ready.
Or so I thought.
The gallery framer had not mounted them properly.
Frames buckled. Edges separated. Artworks warped.
The opening night unfolded…
and my exhibition literally fell apart.
Worse, the framer refused to fix the damage.
And I never saw those prints again.
“When the work falls apart, the artist gets to decide if they will too.”
That moment could have been the end.
But sometimes disaster forces a choice:
Stop…
or evolve.
I chose evolution.
The Evolution
SHIMMER Photographic Biennale, McLaren Vale, 2018
I submitted the work to the City of Onkaparinga SHIMMER Photographic Biennale.
The response: Accepted, Solo Exhibition.
Every piece was reprinted and reframed, this time with precision and care.
I packed my car and drove across the country to present:
Coastal Noir
Kay Brothers Winery
14 September - 14 October 2018
This was Coastal Noir as it was meant to be seen:
- Large and immersive
- Textural and tactile
- Museum-grade cotton rag paper
- A monochrome celebration of emotion, not just appearance
Collectors, winemakers, festival directors, friends, and strangers stood before the work and connected deeply.
What was once loss became honouring.
What was once broken became whole.
“Art doesn’t disappear. It returns, stronger, clearer, truer.”
What Coastal Noir Represents Today
Coastal Noir reminds me that the creative path isn’t linear.
It bends. Breaks. Reveals.
It also refuses to disappear.
Today, this collection stands as a signature offering of ART1, born from:
- Real Australian coastal landscapes
- Abstracted perception
- Creative resilience
Each print embodies its own truth:
“There is magic in the mood of light, shaping what we feel before we see.”
Explore the Collection
Discover the full Coastal Noir series - limited-edition, museum-grade prints from the Coffs Coast.
Each artwork is:
- A limited edition of 50
- Printed on museum-quality paper
- Shipped rolled globally - ready for your own framing choice
- Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity
Own a piece of the journey.
A reminder that even when things fall apart - beauty emerges.