Madison Person's "Unraveling, Interweaving, Disassembling, Reforming"

"I grew up hearing stories of my dad's time working on a lobster boat. The materials used by fisherpeople were throughout our home: ropes, gloves, buckets, baskets. Having grown up on unceded, coastal Wabanaki territory, I was surrounded by fishing communities and lobster motifs. It wasn't until I took a marine biology class at the Wells, ME NOAA reserve that I began to sense tensions between the science community and fisheries. The effects of climate change were the root of most conflicts. As I study at College of the Atlantic, I continue to talk with people who have relationships with the waters. The conversations grow more complex as we dive deeper. This piece is inspired by this dynamic. The fibers of this piece were salvaged from a local lobster pound. I quickly noticed how difficult it was to untangle, but, hidden inside these course ropes was a silky fiber. Wild marine clay, with smashed sea bricks as grog, was barrel-fired with fallen trees from coastal storms. So much is at stake with the changes our planet is facing: ocean acidification, temperature rise, species migration, industrial demand, pollution, etc. Policies are made with the intent of protecting the ocean and the people, however, intentions do not always come through in the practice of policy. It is crucial to further diversify perspectives to expand the methods of reform. I hope that this work can evoke a sense of interconnectivity and collaboration, whilst shedding light on the entangled factors involved in this challenge."

·       Materials Used: Wild marine clay from pematiyik (Mount Desert Island), hand-ground sea brick grog, commercial stoneware, porcelain (barrel fired with seaweed, driftwood and shells), underglaze, glaze, salvaged commercial lobstering ropes and netting, State of Maine Marine Resources Law Book