The vibrant Vero Beach art scene is once again shining a spotlight on the critical intersection of creativity and environmental conservation. If you are passionate about protecting the natural beauty of the Treasure Coast, a captivating multimedia installation at Raw Space is currently offering a profound visual narrative on the area’s ecosystems.
Titled Stewards, the exhibition highlights the urgent need to protect our local habitats while reducing the human-made debris that frequently plagues Florida waterways. Running through October 3, the collaborative showcase features the work of four talented creators: rancher and poet Sean Sexton, painter and ceramicist Christina Bates, painter and show curator Gabriela Hernandez, and sculptor and filmmaker Madeleine Eberhard.
For Eberhard, who relocated to Vero Beach from New Orleans in 2021, the connection to the region’s environment is deeply personal. Drawn to the area’s exceptional quality of life and beautiful beaches, she utilizes her artwork to champion conservation and push back against overdevelopment. Through her striking sculptures crafted from discarded plastics, she transforms everyday marine debris into thought-provoking masterpieces.
Through her work, Eberhard preserves the natural decomposition of discarded materials, freezing these items in time to emphasize the lasting shadow that human waste casts over our waterways and local ecosystems.
Rather than painting or heavily altering the plastics she salvages from riverbanks and local coastlines, Eberhard allows the natural weathering, cracking, and patina to tell a unique story of environmental impact. Viewers exploring the Raw Space gallery will encounter several distinct works that challenge their perception of trash versus treasure.
Notable Sculptures on Display:
- Broken Pottery: A beautifully weathered piece of plastic, likely an old barge buoy, recovered from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River.
- Terra Cotta: What appears to be a warrior’s helmet is actually a rearranged plastic flower pot discovered in the sand at the Fort Pierce Inlet.
- Blue in Brown: A fascinating compilation of rubbery, wood-like material and a bright blue plastic bucket found directly on a Fort Pierce beach.
- Nesting Trio: Three intricate woven wall sculptures created by unraveling heavily soiled commercial barge ropes, which were surprisingly manufactured from recycled baby formula packaging and coffee wrappers.
- Green Wave: A newer, highly abstract work blending plastics found in both Florida and New Orleans, utilizing shadows to represent the unseen consequences of global waste.
Beyond her physical sculptures, Eberhard leverages her background as a Florida State Film School graduate to bring a cinematic element to the gallery. She produced an accompanying film, also titled Stewards, which beautifully bridges the gap between documentary and abstract storytelling. The film spotlights the distinctive ecosystems of Indian River County and the dedicated individuals working to preserve them.
The documentary segments feature compelling local insights, bookended by footage of Sean Sexton on his historic pastoral ranch. It also highlights the vital conservation efforts of Indian River County environmentalists, citizen scientists from the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), and residents of the pristine Blue Cypress Lake.
By focusing on personal passions rather than dry project statistics, Eberhard’s multimedia approach invites the Vero Beach community to connect deeply with local environmental stewards. For those looking to experience this moving tribute to our coastal home, the Stewards installation is open at Raw Space until October 3, with additional information and digital exhibits available online at Stewards-IRC.org.
