Under glorious winter sunshine at Bermagui harbour, a group of would-be weavers are choosing pieces of marine debris – assorted plastic twine and rope – and beginning to see the makings of what, they hope, will become baskets, or other useful items.

In the middle of the mix, Eden-based artist Louise Nade and Tasmanian Samuel McLennan, whose boat made from rescued marine debris sits just off the shoreline, are patiently instructing their workshop group, singing the praises of using repurposed ‘rubbish’.

Louise, winner of the Sculpture Bermagui 2026 Butterfield Property Prize for Best Repurposed Artwork with Cordyceps PVC (CrO₂), is passionate about working with reclaimed landfill. The prizewinning piece transformed discarded yellow bicycle rim tape – used to protect inner tubes – and reclaimed video cassette tape, into a series of stunning yellow and black, translucent organic-like sculptures.

For Louise, there is joy in the challenge and problem-solving required in taking waste material, such as the VHS video tape and bicycle rim tape, and asking: “What can I do with this?”

The material also dictates the work, with Louise saying it has had a previous life and can ‘tend to have a mind of its own”.

“You might set about weaving a particular shape, but the materials have another idea, and you have to work with what they will let you do,” she says.

“I think it’s really important to demonstrate that just because something has been labelled waste, or been thrown away, doesn’t mean you can’t turn it into something beautiful and worthwhile.”

It was Louise’s professional background, working for sixteen years as an illustrator and product designer for fashion and children’s toys, toys that would often end up in landfill, that made her want to reuse what she could. “Basically, my job was to create stuff that had probably ended up in landfill.”

COVID bought an opportunity for the National Art School-trained Nade. With time on her hands, she discovered weaving through an Indigenous-led workshop in Sydney’s Botanic Gardens and just kept going from there.

“Doing this helped with the feeling of being overwhelmed by the size of man-made problems such as climate change and mountains of waste; waste added to by disposable RAT tests and masks.”

So, it was no surprise that when Samuel McLennan sailed into Eden in ‘Heart’, his Mad Max-like vessel built from recycled marine debris and fish farm rubbish, Louise was eager to connect. They became friends and decided to collaborate on a series of weaving workshops using reclaimed marine materials: plastic twine, rope and other discarded items.

From Eden to Bermagui, Louise says the response has been amazing with people ranging in age from pre-schoolers to those in their seventies and eighties taking part. The workshops have shown coastal communities that there are different ways to think about these ‘waste’ materials, and they are also cheap – or free – so very affordable to work with.

Even if people don’t continue weaving, she hopes the workshops will help them stop and pick something up next time they’re walking along the beach; be it abandoned fishing line, plastic, rope or whatever.

Textile waste is another big passion for Louise, who says there are over 100 billion garments produced across the world each year, generating over 92 million tons of textile waste, which is thrown into landfill or burned.

Having worked in Opp shops and seen the number of items destined for landfill, Louise has b

een picking up lots of fabric and is working on two large installation pieces, which will include repurposed scarves, jackets and shirts.

As for Sculpture Bermagui, Louise sees it as hugely important and a quality art prize that grabs attention across the country. “I was thrilled to be a part of it in 2026, and I’ll be entering a work next year,” she told the SB newsletter.

Endnote: If you have any VHS cassettes, don’t throw them away but box them up for Louise Nade. Bring them along when you visit us in 2027.