The Insidious project was a large-scale collaborative effort led by artists Heloise Roberts and Moira Fearby, in partnership with Nature Conservation Margaret River Region and the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.

 

Over a weekend in September 2023, more than 60 community members, gathered at the Margaret River Scout Hall for free workshops. Working alongside the artists, participants transformed over 350 recycled plastic drink bottles into hundreds of trumpet-like "flowers". This hands-on involvement was a deliberate strategy to engage the public directly in the conversation about environmental threats, making the art a vessel for community-driven awareness .

 

The resulting 150-meter-long vine, constructed from plastic tubing and the community-made flowers, was installed along the Barrett Street Trail in the Karri and Marri forest running alongside the Margaret River . It remained in place for several months, snaking through the understorey and climbing up a tree to visually mimic the aggressive and "insidious" spread of real invasive plant species.

 

The installation was launched on October 15, 2023, with a community event featuring guided biodiversity walks led by Nature Conservation's experts, who helped attendees identify local weeds. Informational signage with QR codes linked to a weed identification guide, transformed the artwork into an ongoing educational resource that drew awareness to the dual threats of introduced species and plastic pollution in the local environment