For ceramicist Jane Bamford, hearing that the critically endangered spotted handfish had laid eggs around an artform she made was a career highlight.
It was also a game changer.
The thread of precious eggs had been carefully wound around her stalk-like artwork in a research tank at Seahorse World. Seeing the scientists’ photographs, Bamford realised the important role artists can play in collaborating with researchers to design art for species conservation.
Bamford explains that her porcelain creations are in the shape of stalked ascidians, also known as sea tulips.
“The incredible thing about spotted handfish is that the male and female do this mating dance around the stalk of an ascidian,” Bamford said.
“She lays her eggs, and it appears the male fertilises them. She then stays 6–8 weeks; she’s very maternal. She pushes away predators, moves sand out of the way. The maternal behaviour is very unusual for a fish.”
However, in recent decades, introduced sea stars have preyed on the ascidians, reducing this vital habitat for the once-common spotted handfish, which is found only in Tasmania. It is an example of the interconnectedness of natural systems and the need to protect biodiversity.
Following successful field trials of Bamford’s ceramic habitats, CSIRO commissioned her to make more. Over two University of Tasmania residencies, in 2018 and 2019, she made 5,500 of the ceramic stalks. The residencies saw further refinement, including strength testing by University engineer and alumnus Dr Assaad Taoum.
Now, in 2024, with the knowledge that wild female handfish are gravid with eggs, Bamford is once again making another 1,500 of the ceramic structures for CSIRO researchers to ‘plant’ on the seabed at selected sites south of Hobart.
“I believe artists, working closely with scientists, are uniquely placed to translate scientific knowledge into possible practical solutions,” Bamford said.
She is keen to elevate the work of the researchers involved, including former and current CSIRO Principal Investigators Dr Tim Lynch (BSc ’90) and Carlie Devine.
Bamford’s pioneering collaboration was recognised in the 2019 Design Tasmania Awards, where, together with CSIRO, they won the Design for Impact category.
With funding from the Australia Council in 2021, Bamford also created 1,100 ceramic forms in the shape of razorfish shells as foundations for a native oyster reef restoration project headed by the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, South Australia.
“Razorfish act as ecosystem engineers,” Bamford said. “They stand upright on the seabed like a mini-Stonehenge, providing an important substrate for oyster reefs in these coastal waters.”
Both ceramic conservation designs are made of Southern Ice Porcelain, developed by one of Jane’s former teachers, the late Les Blakebrough AM, an associate professor at the University.
Bamford also builds clay penguin burrows for little penguins to nest in. Prior to that, she wove strands of endangered giant kelp into an artwork after scientific discussions with alumnus Professor Craig Johnson.
“I really love working in collaboration,” Bamford said.
“I feel very privileged to spend time with people whose working life is at the pointy end of extinction – it’s big work.”
Bamford is recently back from a US studio residency at Haystack Mountain School of Craft. While there, she met with alumna Abby Barrows (BSc ’06) who, together with husband Ben Jackson (BA Hons ’06), runs an oyster lease off Deer Island, Maine, using alternatives to plastics in their operations.
Bamford trained in ceramics in Japan before completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally.
More recently, by offering her work to be sold only to ‘gift into habitat’, she provides ordinary people with a unique opportunity to become philanthropists of art and science.
“We all want our children to live in a biodiverse world,” she said.
Written by Katherine Johnson for Alumni Magazine Issue 55, 2024.
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Top of page: Jane Bamford | Photo: Ivett Dodd