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Taking the issue forward of what is acceptable and pushing the boundaries, playing with the viewers mind, trying to entice them in and then causing some shock. I decided to create something out of the thing it is supposed to catch, a fish net. I created a fish net out of fish strung and weaved together around a fishing net metal frame. The fish are dry and they seem to sparkle and glisten and although they are dead and hang stiff they look so decorative and precious. Fish are precious and are a food that we eat. Currently in the news we see reports about the over fishing of the seas and some reports say that is we do not slow down then fishing supplies in their natural habitats will run out by 2050 if we continue at this rate. The issues are that some fish types are being taken from the seas at such a fast rate that they are running out and could be extinct. I do not see this as why I made the work but it is something that I thought about when making the work as the fish glistened like the sea at sunset and the net just reminded me of the sites of the big nets filled with fish that nets were suppose to catch and also dolphins and sharks that they were not suppose to catch. The mood of the net makes me feel enticed and interested in the texture and the play of words between using fish to make a fish net. I like the cleverness in it. Up close the work I do think makes you feel a bit disgusted and I have seen people scream, which I do think is an over-reaction but it does smell. I do feel it relates to the work of Tom Friedman as I am altering a functional and forming an alliance through combining an issue and materials. His work is about dematerialising everyday objects. I have done this also but in a less obvious way. The net is decorative and not functional; it seems to sit as a statement like the chair that shows vulnerability and neglect. I feel the moral and larger issues that I expressed before, about how one man’s rubbish is another man’s gold is evident in the net. Some communities have to rely on fishing to make money and to survive and I feel the over fishing of the sea is necessary for some people to survive. It is a whole world issue that has to be addressed, just like the poverty and deprivation we see in the world. I know that artists like Friedman uses everyday objects but I do think they are a metaphor for a larger issue. This work stands about 2 metres in length and surprisingly does not smell bad!!! |
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| Author |
| Toby Bowles , 17 yrs |
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| School |
| Sir William Ramsay School |
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