Marina DeBris is an Australia-based artist who uses 'trash' found around Sydney's eastern suburbs beaches to create artworks that expose the huge volume of rubbish that ends up in our oceans.

When DeBris turned her art practise to focus on the ocean, her long-time friend Ian Campbell, who is the principal of Ray White Elizabeth Bay, saw an opportunity to help her spread her message.

"Marina is an old friend of myself and my wife (Pamela Lesmond) and ever since she made the ocean environment a focus of her work, we have been very supportive," Campbell told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS.

"We know it’s difficult to earn a living while devoting all your time and energy to such an important cause," he said. 

When Marina needed funds to develop an environmental art piece for Sculpture by the Sea, Campbell was happy to help with a donation from the real estate business. 

Campbell believes DeBris' work delivers an important message that should be widely appreciated and understood.

"It drives home the importance of respecting the ocean environment in a way that’s both interesting and engaging," he said.

When many people "switch off" about environmental matters, "Marina’s work makes us stop and think," said Campbell.

DeBris' work has been shown at Sculpture by the Sea, the Smithsonian Institute, the United Nations, and at events such as Burning Man.

Campbell believes businesses should support artists or arts organisations - if they can.

"Businesses have a responsibility to help where they can in supporting the arts," he said. 

"The very nature of artistic endeavour makes it difficult to earn a living from the arts, yet work like Marina’s is so important." 

Just as art is an expression of the artist, homes can be an expression of their owner, believes Campbell, who says there is a natural affinity between real estate and the arts.

"Many people strive to make their homes an artistic expression of themselves," said Campbell. 

"I do believe art is all around us, it’s just a matter of how you look at life," he said. 

Campbell's longstanding real estate business is in the creative, inner-city community of Elizabeth Bay/Potts Point.

"Many of our clients are directly involved in the arts and we share their enthusiasm for our community which has a long-term involvement with the arts," he said.

Other ways Campbell has helped DeBris is to employ her on graphic design projects, the career she pursued before dedicating herself to environmental art.

Campbell said he doesn't expect anything in return for his support of DeBris' work, although his firm does write up her work and their support in investor reports, and he gets the sense readers "are impressed we support such important work".

DeBris has found in Campbell and Lesmond supporters who shares her passion for making oceans healthier. "They know the importance of raising awareness about the health of the ocean," she told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS.

DeBris says Campbell and the business have not only provided financial support, but have also helped generate ideas about how to raise awareness of ocean pollution.

We're spreading the powerful message of Marina's work here too.

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