New York based artist Simone Douglas has returned to her hometown to install stunning artworks on the façade of Manly Art Gallery & Museum.

The Northern Beaches born artist left New York and returned to Sydney when the pandemic first hit in March 2020. She had a largely nocturnal existence, getting up in the middle of the night to teach her New York based art students from the Parsons School of Design via Zoom.

Her artworks are inspired by these nocturnal moments and her observations and musings of the night sky and ocean.

The seascapes and skyscapes were formed over a period of months around Manly Cove and at Curl Curl using light drawing and alchemical processes, capturing a year of skies, tides and waves.

“The luminosity of the night sky and the physicality of the water connect us with the immensity and intensity of our fragile existence on a small blue ball shimmering in the deep,” Ms Douglas said.

“Captured in ‘slow time’, these works seek to convey the magnitude of time. The ocean, the harbour and water are connective forces that hold our collective history.

“It’s great to be back in Manly to capture, create and share these new works with my hometown.”

For Douglas, the ocean, harbour, and water are connective forces that hold our collective history.

Here, making sense of the local landscape and waterways through different lenses and readings has, on one level, also become a metaphor for making sense of the world right now.

The Simone Douglas MAG&M Art Wall is on display now until 12 February 2023.