Judy Watson (b. 1959, Australia) produced the heron island suite of color etchings during a 2009 residency at the University of Queensland’s Heron Island Research Station, rebuilt after a devastating fire of 2007.  This suite of 20 prints combines natural forms with the scientific charts and graphs representing the impact of ocean changes of coral bleaching. Watson’s etchings visualize the interface between scientific researchers’ methods and their research subject – the ecological health of this hidden undersea realm.

Judy Watson is an indigenous artist harkening from North West Queensland in Australia. under the act, her illustrated book, combines official documents with evocative images to reveal a sad tale from her family’s past. Watson’s grandmother, born to an aboriginal mother and a white father, was removed from her parents as decreed by laws aimed at assimilating Aboriginal peoples into dominant white culture in Australia.