An immensely topical and hauntingly beautiful porcelain artwork by Adelaide artist Deb McKay has been named winner of the SouthAustralian Museum’s 2026 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize.
The piece, titled The Ghosts of our Coastal Water, emphasises the devastation South Australia’s ongoing algal bloom has had on the coastal marine ecosystem, and reflects on the disturbing aftermath of environmental collapse.
Deb (above) wins the $30,000 Open category, which is proudly supported by the South Australian Museum Foundation.
Deb, who also won the prize’s Emerging category in 2022, described her piece as a labour of love, motivated by the devastation wreaked by the algal bloom.
“I was on a family holiday to the Fleurieu Peninsula last Easter with my children and grandchildren, Deb said. “And we saw how the wildlife had changed.
“I knew what I had to do (to create the artwork). We had friends burying rays on Kangaroo Island; we had friends burying fish. We saw the impact every night on the news.
“I knew it (the piece) had to be green, and I knew ithad to represent the ghost-like creatures that had died.”
Kat Parker from Shepparton in Victoria won the Emerging artist category for her piece Discarded (Christmas Island Pipistrelle), a hanging life-size sculpture of the tiny bat frozen inflight.
The last call of this echolocating bat was recorded in 2009, and it has not been heard on the island since. Kat takes home $10,000 for the Emerging category win, which is supported by Hill Smith Art Advisory.
“My sincerest thanks to the South Australian Museum and the judges for selecting my artwork for this honour,” Kat said. “I hope that my work can draw attention to the lesser-known species we have already lost due to human activity.
“Through learning about extinction, I believe we have a better chance of saving our vulnerable species.”
The Waterhouse is proudly produced by the South Australian Museum and is one of Australia’s most prestigious and richest art prizes.
South Australian Museum Director Dr Samantha Hamilton said the winning pieces are captivating and show great talent but hit hard because of the messages they deliver about our fragile environment.
“I had the privilege of being a judge for the Waterhouse this year and I was amazed by quality of the entries,” Dr Hamilton said.
“Deb McKay and Kat Parker are the deserving winners in what was avery close contest. The Waterhouse explores the nexus between science and the arts, and we hope the prize and resulting exhibition make both more accessibleto more people.
“Our team at the Museum has again created an outstanding exhibition, reinforcing the Museum’s place at the centre of our State’s cultural identity.
“I urge you all to come and see it for yourself and support Australian artists.”
All up, 42 finalists were named in the Open category, and another 32 in the Emerging artist category. The winning pieces will be exhibited along with the rest of the shortlisted finalist entries at the South Australian Museum until Sunday 19 July 2026.
The following artworks have been awarded a Highly Commended by the judging panel.
Open category:
Abdul-Rahman Abdullah from Western Australia for Black Cat
Dan Power from the Australian Capital Territory for More Than the Sum of Parts
Jeremy Blincoe from Victoria for An Odd Circularity
Katherine Boland from New South Wales for Insecta
Emerging category:
Annelise Josephine Smith from Victoria for Nautilus Shell II
Jorji Gardener from South Australia for Mapping Absence
Karla Pringle from Victoria for Everyday Holobionts: Waters Colour Calendar
LeShaye Swan from South Australia for Bush Bananas
Mia Forrest from New South Wales for Remnants
The Waterhouse was launched in 2002 and is named in honour of the South Australian Museum’s first curator Frederick George Waterhouse.
Artists were invited to submit any form of visual fine art that relates to the natural world, with the exception of photography. To be eligible, the work must have been produced no earlier than January 2025 and must relate to the natural world and the sciences associated with it, such as biology, geology, astronomy, chemistry and physics, as well as First Nations science.
The judges were:
Coby Edgar is a queer multi-racial Gulumoerrigin(Larrakia)/Jingili/Filipino/Chinese/Irish/Scottish/English - First Nationscurator, writer and presenter.
Professor Craig T. Simmons is Chief Scientist for South Australia. He is a leading groundwater scientist, recognised for contributions to groundwater science, science leadership, education, and policy reform.
Jason Smith is Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia. Previously he was Director & CEO of Geelong Gallery, one of Australia’s oldest and most important regional galleries.
Dr Samantha Hamilton is the Director & CEO of the South Australian Museum. She is also President of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material.
More information on the Waterhouse exhibition can befound on the South Australian Museum website.
