Wender·Vista
Macquarie Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileAustralia
in the Southern Ocean, halfway from Tasmania to Antarctica

Macquarie Island

— — a sliver of the ocean floor lifted above the sea.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A long thin island in the Southern Ocean, about fifteen hundred kilometres south-southeast of Hobart, on the way to nowhere except Antarctica. The only place on Earth where rocks from the mantle stand above the waves. Royal penguins breed here and nowhere else. The wind is rarely under thirty knots and the cloud rarely lifts for long. — from the studio

from the studio
Macquarie Island
— bring it home

Macquarie Island, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Macquarie Island

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Macquarie Island lies in the Southern Ocean at roughly 54° south and 158° east, about 1,500 kilometres south-southeast of Hobart and a similar distance north of the Antarctic continent. The island is around 34 kilometres long and never more than 5 kilometres wide. It is part of the Australian state of Tasmania, administered as a Tasmanian nature reserve, and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. The Australian Antarctic Division maintains a permanent research station near the northern tip, occupied year-round by a small wintering party.

— the stone

Macquarie is the only place on Earth where rocks from beneath the ocean crust — the upper mantle — are exposed above sea level. The island sits on the Macquarie Ridge, where the Australian and Pacific plates meet, and is being slowly lifted at around 0.8 millimetres a year. The basalts, gabbros, and serpentinised peridotites visible on the beaches are the same rocks that floor the deep ocean elsewhere on the planet. The geological significance is the central reason for the 1997 World Heritage inscription.

— the silence

Around 100,000 breeding pairs of royal penguins return each spring to the island, the only place on Earth where the species breeds. They share the beaches with king penguins, southern elephant seals, and four species of nesting albatross. Until 2014 the island carried introduced rabbits, rats, and mice; a seven-year eradication programme by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and the Australian Antarctic Division removed them all. The vegetation has been returning, and with it the burrowing seabirds whose colonies the rabbits had hollowed out.

— where
Australia · Macquarie Island Nature Reserve, Tasmania
— within
Macquarie Island Nature Reserve
— elevation
433 m · 1,421 ft
— position
-54.5000° S · 158.9500° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1500 km N
Hobart
Tasmanian capital
620 km E
Auckland Islands
subantarctic island group
N
Macquarie Island
Hobart
Auckland Islands
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Macquarie Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In the Southern Ocean at approximately 54° south and 158° east, about 1,500 kilometres south-southeast of Hobart, Tasmania. It lies roughly halfway between mainland Australia and the Antarctic continent.

UNESCO inscribed the island in 1997 for its geological values. It is the only place on Earth where rocks from the upper mantle are exposed above sea level, lifted along the Macquarie Ridge.

Access is by permit only, almost entirely through small-ship expedition cruises that anchor offshore and run zodiac landings under strict biosecurity. There are no commercial flights, no airstrip, and no port on the island.

Royal, king, gentoo, and southern rockhopper penguins all breed on the island. The royal penguin breeds nowhere else; the breeding population numbers around 100,000 pairs spread across several rookeries on the coast.

The island is part of Tasmania and is managed as a nature reserve by the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. The Australian Antarctic Division operates the research station near the northern end.

Yes. A joint Australian and Tasmanian programme between 2007 and 2014 removed rabbits, rats, and mice from the island. Native vegetation and burrowing seabirds have been recovering steadily since.

— about the piece in your home

Often, yes. Veterans of ANARE expeditions and Antarctic Division staff hold Macquarie closely as a way-station and a posting. A Medium with a note from the studio reads well above a desk.

The slate greys and tussock greens sit well in Coastal-modern, Mountain-modern, and minimalist interiors built around stone and weathered wood. The piece pairs against pale plaster or unfinished oak.

Yes. The palette reads as raw ocean and grassland and works in rooms built around natural materials. A Large or four-tile Mural carries the long thin shape of the island better than smaller sizes.

Above a standard sofa, the Large is usually right. Above a long console, a four-tile Mural suits the island's narrow geography. A nine-tile Mural anchors a wider wall and becomes the room's centre.

Yes, in our Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splash, so they work above a sink or in a shower surround. The Glossy finish is for dry-wall display only.

A soft microfibre cloth with water is all it needs. Avoid abrasive sponges and solvent cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so normal cleaning will not dull or fade it over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original, made in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender's direction, and not licensed from any outside source. We work as a single studio, with no third-party reproduction.

— if this one stayed with you

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