Kebi Bonau

Date2017

Object number00055312

NameSculpture

MediumGhost net (reclaimed fishing net and rope), polypropylene, rope and twine

DimensionsOverall: 100 × 230 × 200 mm, 186 g

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection purchased by the ANMM Foundation with the assistance of Sid Faithfull and Christine Sadler Program supporting Contemporary Indigenous Maritime Heritage in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait

Terms

DescriptionKebi Bonau (small cluster of coral) was made by Erub artist Racy Oui-Pitt from Darnley Island in the Torres Strait using ghost-net. Ghost-nets are nets discarded by fisherman at sea that continue to float, often entangling turtles, dugong and other marine animals, before washing up on the shore. In northern Australia where the problem is acute, local artists are using ghost-nets as a medium for highlighting the problem, creating stunning works of animals caught in the nets and works that reflect cultural stories and ways of life in the Torres Strait Islands. HistoryArtists Statement: "Around the edges of the rock pools the coral grows in small (kebi) clumps like miniature coral bommies (bonau). We often walk out on the reef that surrounds our island looking in the shallow pools for fish such as mabal (dory) and garom (rock cod) and shells like asor (spider) and kerret to eat. As the tide comes in the corals come to life swaying with the tides and currents creating a colourful garden wonderland. While we admire the corals beauty you must be very careful and treat it with respect as it can sting leaving nasty abrasions. The deconstructed ghost net that this work is made from also conveys this message; something that is so deadly can be so beautiful." - Racy Oui-Pitt, Erub Erwer Meta Arts CentreSignificanceUsing a cross-cultural and collaborative model Erub Arts is leading the way in large sculptural forms constructed using Ghost Net, producing woven, wrapped and twined statements about traditional and contemporary island life.