'S.O.S Food Chain', 2009 - Materials: Marker drawings of plankton and herrings/ sardines/ anchovy on ceramic plate inside life ring buoy, on nautical table cloth. This piece is trying to drive home the point that the oceanic food chain is in deep trouble by using attention getting materials that we associate with both emergencies, crisis, as well as eating food. Why is it in trouble? Plankton form the base of the marine nutritional system: everything either eats them or eats something that does.
Purse Seiner Plate, 2009 - From 'Fish Food'. Marker on ceramic plate, drawings on adhesive acetate on plate.
Partial install View - Grid on the left consists of popular yet over fished species drawn on the type of supermarket packaging that we're used to purchasing them on: styrofoam trays, sectional picnic plates, red-and-white checked baskets, and sushi to-go containers. The exhibition 'Fish Food' was comprised of a series of mixed-media installations exploring issues effecting marine ecosystems, such as overfishing and our insatiable desire for seafood.
Various install views - 2009 The exhibition 'Fish Food' was comprised of a series of mixed-media installations exploring issues effecting marine ecosystems, such as overfishing and our insatiable desire for seafood.
Herring boat with Net (detail) - 2009 The fishing boats themselves are drawn directly on the wall. The nets are comprised of 2 layers: a dense, detailed drawing of fish with a second drawing of more fish on a piece of shaped plexi. The net shape is hung suspended over the first drawing, giving the impression of multitudes of fish through interesting shadows. Blue fishing line connects boat to net.
'S.O.S Food Chain" - 2009 marker drawings on ceramic plate inside life buoy ring The exhibition 'Fish Food' was comprised of a series of mixed-media installations exploring issues effecting marine ecosystems, such as overfishing and our insatiable desire for seafood.
Herring boat - 2009 The fishing boats themselves are drawn directly on the wall. The nets are comprised of 2 layers: a dense, detailed drawing of fish with a second drawing of more fish on a piece of shaped plexi. The net shape is hung suspended several inches over the first drawing, giving the impression of multitudes of fish through interesting shadows. Blue fishing line connects boat to net.
Detail: 'S.O.S. Food Chain' - The exhibition 'Fish Food' was comprised of a series of mixed-media installations exploring issues effecting marine ecosystems, such as overfishing and our insatiable desire for seafood.
Net detail (Orange Roughy)
Tuna boat - 2009 The fishing boats themselves are drawn directly on the wall. The nets are comprised of 2 layers: a dense, detailed drawing of fish with a second drawing of more fish on a piece of shaped plexi. The net shape is hung suspended several inches over the first drawing, giving the impression of multitudes of fish through interesting shadows. Blue fishing line connects boat to net.
swordfish larvae - Images of larval billfish (swords, marlin) painted on sectional plastic garbage. Swordfish take a very long time to become sexually mature, and have been endangered by over-fishing
Food chain plate - Huge schools of small forage fish (herring, sardine, anchovy, menhaden) are in the ocean for a reason: they eat plankton and then other things eat them. Yet we remove millions of TONS of small forage fish for - in my opinion- ridiculous, stupid reasons: animal feed, fertilizer, pet food, industrial oils, and also feed for certain farmed fish- which makes the whole practice of aquaculture of predatory fish pretty darn unsustainable.
fish net plate - Image of a purse seiner on a plastic to-go plate.
"Tablecloth Flag" from Fish Food, 2009 - Images of the fishing industry or food chain are drawn on plastic to-go plates and second hand ceramic plates. Tablecloth/Flag/Placemats/Napkins made out of nautical tablecloth fabric with propellers.
Tablecloth flag and S.O.S Food Chain
grid detail
Install view
Fishing boat plate
gLike
Fish Food
Available
Freelance
Melissa Stang
Artist Columbia, SC