Tide Beach
Date1980-1981
MediumRag paper pulp relief
DimensionsOverall: 24 × 28 1/2 inches (61 × 72.4 cm)
Framed: 28 1/8 × 32 3/4 × 2 inches (71.4 × 83.2 × 5.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Athena Tacha
Object number2026.12
Copyright© Athena Tacha.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextOne of the first artists to develop environmental site-specific sculpture in the early 1970s, Athena Tacha was captivated by the repeating patterns that wind and water carved in the sand on Ossabaw Island’s beaches during her residency at the Ossabaw Island Project (OIP) in the fall of 1980. She cast the adjacent paper pulp reliefs directly from them, collaborating with these natural formations to create sculpture. In 2005, Tacha returned to photographs that she took on Ossabaw and composed them in a 12-part grid. Using the images’ varying perspectives to create an uneasy terrain, Tacha emphasized the aliveness of the beach’s windswept peaks and valleys.
Gallery label from Off the Coast of Paradise: Artists and Ossabaw Island, 1961–Now, March 13–September 6, 2026.
