Zealous activist calls on Batemans Bay community for 'Human Impacts on the Ocean'

She painted her body with blue fish scales, stripped down to her underwear and held a sign that urged politicians and passersby to "leave fish off your plate, for ocean's sake".

Two years later, she made national headlines after spending 24 uncomfortable hours in a crate dressed in a pig suit in front of the Tasmanian parliament to protest factory farms.

Now, she is catching the attention of the Eurobodalla as she pieces together an exhibition, "Human Impacts on the Ocean".

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Ms Knight hopes her exhibition will raise awareness and bolster the community to create positive change when it opens at the Bay Pavilions in December 2023.

She said her motivation for the showcase was sparked when she began rummaging through photos and stories of her time in Tasmania. Ms Knight felt her work advocating for the ocean's creatures and overall health was "incomplete".

"I printed out my photos and thought it was time to do something with them," she said.

She is confident that artists and environmental enthusiasts will join her in raising awareness through paintings, sculptures and photography in Batemans Bay.

"I know how much people really do care about the ocean and art is a good way to express that."

Ms Knight grew up in Canberra surrounded by animals: her family had dogs, cats, horses and mice.

One of her earliest memories was her overwhelming love for animals.

"I felt I always had that compassion in me and that's why I started to question [their rights]."

As a young woman, she travelled around Australia and developed a deep concern for native animals, trees and bushland.

She began working as a vet nurse and soon began questioning her eating habits.

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"I started to think and question: I love animals so much, why am I eating them?

"Once I looked into it, I was absolutely horrified. I couldn't take any part in it."

After hosting an exhibition similar to "Human Impacts on the Ocean" in Cairns, Ms Knight travelled the world and discovered creativity can be harnessed to build awareness about environmental issues.

She interned with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in London, Vancouver and Manila before heading back to Australia to work with environmental activism groups in Tasmania.

She said the misconception that fish are different from other creatures remains rife.

In one protest, Ms Knight put a fish hook through her lip, painted her body and headed to the Salamanca Markets to ask people what they thought about fish feeling pain.

She said 2.7 trillion fish are caught every year, which equates to 5 million every minute.

Ms Knight is calling on artists to submit works to her exhibition which portray the human impact on the ocean or sea creatures.

"I think there's a lot of change that still needs to happen - people still don't really know how serious the situation is."