I came across this scene while walking a friend’s dog in a brief period of sunshine between some heavy rain showers. Clarence Council had undertaken major works to upgrade the stormwater outfall at Bellerive Beach, and the final stage of the project was to rebuild the large sand dunes.

On this day, the bright sunshine gave an intensity to the colours, and the sharp contrasts between the shapes and shadows gave everything an abstract, or slightly surreal quality that attracted my attention immediately.

The almost military formation of the green planting guards and their hard edges made a vivid foil for the softer organic shapes of the young trees and bushes, while the sense of emptiness was partly relieved by the two industrious magpies, foraging through the debris.