Our family extends beyond the shoreline.

Sea Kin reimagines kinship, exploring our deep connections to the marine life of Sydney Harbour. The exhibition brings art and science communication together, fostering empathy and care for local ecosystems, asking us to recognise our relationships with the other species such as seahorses, crayfish, penguins, and seagrasses.

Working with children from Drummoyne and Glebe Public Schools in workshops, artists Jennifer Turpin and Sophie Raymond created portraits of children embodying iconic harbour species. Combining scientific and creative enquiry, the workshops allowed the children to engage with the materials of their chosen creature’s habitat and deepen their understanding of the fragile ecosystems of Sydney Harbour and the challenges faced by our underwater kin.

Eight photographic portraits of participating children are framed in ornate seaweed and displayed in a salon-style hang. Each portrait is paired with an imaginative audio story, scripted and voiced by the children themselves and heard by listening through a large seashell – giving voice to our marine neighbours and inviting visitors into a kinship built on attention and care.