The first time I visited McIver’s Ladies Baths was on a cold winter morning, yet somehow the place felt like a warm embrace. The swimmers smiled at me, the sun was rising, waves were hitting the rocks, the wind moved through the Banksia trees and birds were singing.

For a moment, it felt as though we were all part of one living being. My breathing followed the rhythm of the ocean, and I felt deeply connected to the animals, plants, water and rocks around me — as though everything existed within one living web.

The mural transforms the Sunroom into an immersive ecosystem where human, animal, water and land flow together. At its heart, a woman-cormorant dives into the ocean, representing the generations of women who have come to McIver’s to swim, connect, rest and belong. A young cormorant represents future generations, while an octopus offers her a shell — a gesture of kindness, exchange and connection.

Fish, shells, birds, rocks and human forms intertwine across the walls and floor, surrounding visitors as though they too have entered the ecosystem.

Through this mural, I hope women and children experience the same feeling that inspired me when I first visited McIver’s:

We are not separate from nature.

We are nature — one living being, one soul.