Since 2009, a new artistic movement, ghostnet sculpture, has emerged in Australia. Ghost nets are discarded fishing nets lost or abandoned by trawlers operating in the Timor Sea. Like anti-personnel mines, they continue to trap marine species, many of which are endangered, such as turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, whales, etc.

Faced with this scourge, Australian artists decided to create sculptures from this debris in order to alert the general public to the catastrophic consequences of this pollution, not only on the marine environment but also on the culture of these sea-faring peoples. Indeed, for these communities, many of these animals have totemic value.

This work was exhibited as part of the traveling exhibition series: “AUSTRALIA: DEFENDING THE OCEANS - THE ART OF GHOSTNETS.”