Beneath The Wave
An Immersive Ocean-Inspired Art Installation
There’s something about the ocean that feels like home. It’s alive, endlessly moving and deeply connected to everything it touches. Its energy travels around the globe, linking distant shores and carrying stories between worlds. The element of water has always fascinated me with its ability to shape, cleanse and transform. Beneath the surface lies a world we barely know… a vast, shimmering realm of mystery where light fades, colours glow and life takes on forms both strange and spectacular. It’s a reminder that there’s still magic left in the world, hidden just out of sight, waiting to be discovered.
Beneath the Wave was my way of bringing that mystery and wonderous imaginative energy onto land: to capture the rhythm of the sea and turn it into something people could step inside of. Built for Blazing Swan 2023, under the festival theme Poseidon’s Flame, it became an underwater dreamscape — a place where fire met water, where movement, light, and emotion fused into an experience people could walk through, touch, and lose themselves in. It was a place to wander, to pause and to feel that quiet sense of connection that only water (and art) can evoke.
Bringing the Ocean’s Magic to Dry Land
This installation began as a simple idea: what if we could step into the ocean without getting wet? I wanted to capture the feeling of being surrounded by water; that gentle suspension between light and movement, sound and silence. The goal was to create an immersive environment that felt like a living, breathing wave; a space that both grounded and lifted people at the same time.
Inspiration: Flow, Depth, and the Call of the Sea
I’ve always been drawn to the fluid shapes and portals of the ocean, the way light refracts through ripples, how seaweed dances with the current, how everything moves as one. Beneath the Wave was born from that fascination.
The piece also explores the theme of flow, both artistic and emotional. Just as the ocean ebbs and shifts, so too does creativity. This installation became a meditation on surrendering to movement and allowing beauty to emerge through rhythm and layering.
Process: Building an Ocean Out of Art
Creating Beneath the Wave was as much an engineering challenge as it was an artistic one. It had to be imaginative, transportable and strong enough to hold its own in the middle of the bush… a full-blown underwater world that could be packed down and rebuilt like a flatpack dreamscape.
With plenty of help from my dad, Sul, we constructed the entire installation from timber and plywood, engineered to travel from my home workshop out to the festival grounds. Inside, the structure was divided into two immersive rooms. One for the shallow waters and one for the deep sea, each honouring the distinct moods and colours of the ocean’s depths.
The shallow water room was painted in soft turquoise and aquamarine tones, layered with flowing fabrics that rippled gently in the breeze. Laser-cut acrylic sea creatures drifted across the walls, catching shards of light from prism bubbles that scattered tiny rainbows through the space. The floor was covered in shaggy carpets and velvet cushions, a tactile landscape of soft textures designed to make people slow down, sit and feel. Along the walls, a floral coral reef came to life with dried and dyed botanicals mixed with sculpted coral forms, creating an organic tapestry of shape and colour.
Stepping deeper, the light dimmed and the atmosphere shifted. The deep sea room glowed with luminous blues and purples. An array of luminescent jellyfish drifted overhead as their tendrils crafted from ribbons, sheer fabric and assorted materials, all UV-painted so they shimmered and pulsed beneath blacklight. They moved ever so slightly with the air, as if suspended in slow motion, breathing with the rhythm of the ocean.
And at the centre of it all, Angelica, a giant papier-mâché anglerfish, painted in electric neon hues of coral, lime and indigo. She was fierce and whimsical all at once, her oversized glowing lure casting playful light across the walls as ocean sounds echoed softly below. Angelica became a guardian of the deep; part sculpture, part creature, part spirit of the installation itself. Together, the glowing jellyfish and Angelica created a surreal bubble of movement and colour that made visitors feel as though they had truly descended beneath the surface.
Between both rooms hidden speakers filled the space with ambient ocean sounds, and subtle lighting gave the illusion of rippling water moving across the surfaces. Everywhere you looked, there was something to touch, something to discover; a sensory world that blended movement, sound, texture and light.
The biggest challenge? Making something static feel alive. Every detail, from how the fabrics hung to how the light moved, was designed to capture the ocean’s rhythm and create a sense of wonder. Beneath the Wave wasn’t just built to be seen; it was built to be felt.
None of it would have come together without the help of my siblings, Harry and Liv, who were there through every stage of setup at Blazing Swan. From hauling materials, hanging fabrics, troubleshooting lights and keeping spirits high through the dust and heat. We’ve spent so much of our childhood by the ocean, so creating Beneath the Wave together felt like returning home in a new way. The sea has always been something that connects our family deeply, its rhythm, its freedom, its sense of calm, and having them there to help bring that world to life made the whole experience even more meaningful.
The Final Experience
When the installation was unveiled, it truly became a portal. The moment people stepped through the entrance, the outside world seemed to fade away. The air cooled, the light softened and an oceanic hum filled the space. Part soundscape, part heartbeat. Visitors didn’t just look at Beneath the Wave; they entered it.
Some stood completely still, eyes wide, letting the sound of waves and shifting light wash over them. Others wandered slowly, running their hands along the soft fabrics and coral textures. Making themselves at home as they twirled through beams of turquoise light that flickered like reflections off water. Everywhere I looked, there was a sense of quiet awe as strangers smiling at each other, friends lying back on the shaggy carpets, people breathing a little deeper than they had a moment before.
That’s my favourite part of immersive art; watching people drop their guard and reconnect with play, curiosity, and calm. In those moments, the installation stopped being mine; it became theirs. Beneath the Wave reminded me why I create, because art doesn’t have to hang on a wall or sit on a pedestal. It can surround you, invite you in, and transform the way you feel.
The Connection: Art, Floristry & Event Design
Every installation I create, whether for a festival, council event, or wedding, carries this same philosophy: to transform spaces into experiences.
Beneath the Wave embodies what Design by MINK is all about: merging art, nature, and emotion to create something unforgettable. Whether it’s an ocean portal, a secret garden, or a floral wonderland, each piece is designed to bring people together through wonder and connection.
