The Sea of Untold Stories is an emotional response to the plight of migrants making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea.

The central shamsa (sunburst) is a sign of hope. It emulates a symbol on the passport that Lazaro’s grandfather used for his journey from Burma (now Myanmar) to London in the 1950s

The figures, some carrying bags containing their only possessions, are drops of water in a vast sea of gold.

Inspired by the Chinese Dunhuang Star Atlas, the oldest visual chart of the stars, the sky displays the four celestial animals guarding the constellations: tiger, dragon, vermillion bird, turtle.

Other constellations include Argo, the ship in the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. It is surrounded by Pegasus (winged horse), Equuleus (the little horse), Hydra (the Water Serpent), Centaurus (the centaur), and Hercules (the strong man).

Stars guided people crossing oceans, deserts and continents when no other navigational tool was available.

Not all the migrants reach their physical destination. Some transcend this world, gradually morphing into stars. Lazaro turns the grief of unimaginable loss into the light of transcendental hope.

Desmond Lazaro The Sea of Untold Stories II 2019, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Lawrence Hinchliffe Bequest Fund 2019