Keith Banks
2025
Rusted iron, driftwood, natural marine formations
74 × 56 cm
After the Sea considers the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world through materials shaped by both industry and the ocean. A heavily oxidised iron surface forms the backdrop to a fragment of driftwood once colonised by marine worms and molluscs, its intricate cavities preserving evidence of life that flourished long after the timber entered the sea.
Suspended against a field of rust, the weathered timber evokes the image of a meteor or celestial body crossing the Earth's atmosphere. The work draws a connection between one of the planet's greatest extinction events—the asteroid impact that brought an end to approximately 75% of life on Earth—and the quieter, human-driven environmental changes unfolding today.
The title reflects on what remains after the sea has reclaimed what we leave behind. Rusted iron speaks of industry and consumption, while the driftwood carries the memory of both ocean and time. Together, they question whether humanity's pursuit of progress has come at the expense of the ecosystems that sustain us.
The driftwood has been carefully stabilised and preserved, allowing the natural textures created by marine organisms to remain visible as a permanent record of their interaction with the material.
Rusted iron
Marine-weathered driftwood
Naturally occurring marine worm and mollusc formations
74 × 56 cm
Original mixed-media wall sculpture
Keith Banks
2025
Rusted iron, driftwood, natural marine formations
74 × 56 cm
After the Sea considers the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world through materials shaped by both industry and the ocean. A heavily oxidised iron surface forms the backdrop to a fragment of driftwood once colonised by marine worms and molluscs, its intricate cavities preserving evidence of life that flourished long after the timber entered the sea.
Suspended against a field of rust, the weathered timber evokes the image of a meteor or celestial body crossing the Earth's atmosphere. The work draws a connection between one of the planet's greatest extinction events—the asteroid impact that brought an end to approximately 75% of life on Earth—and the quieter, human-driven environmental changes unfolding today.
The title reflects on what remains after the sea has reclaimed what we leave behind. Rusted iron speaks of industry and consumption, while the driftwood carries the memory of both ocean and time. Together, they question whether humanity's pursuit of progress has come at the expense of the ecosystems that sustain us.
The driftwood has been carefully stabilised and preserved, allowing the natural textures created by marine organisms to remain visible as a permanent record of their interaction with the material.
Rusted iron
Marine-weathered driftwood
Naturally occurring marine worm and mollusc formations
74 × 56 cm
Original mixed-media wall sculpture
