Reversion Au Karem Lamar Lu, Ghost Nets of the Ocean
Date2017
Object number00055332
NameDigital video file
MediumMP4 digital file
ClassificationsBorn digital media
DescriptionA four-minute film titled 'Reversion Au Karem Lamar Lu, Ghost Nets of the Ocean.' It was filmed on Erub Island in the Torres Strait and documents some of the Erub artists involved in the creation of ghost net sculptures. The artists describe the process of their work and their cultural connections with the ocean and reef of the island.
HistoryUsing 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.
The primary purpose of this short film is to show viewers the beauty and significance of Erub, and how the artists there are turning the pollution of discarded netting and rope into a means to communicate their close connection to the environment and the need to save the world's oceans.
As Lynette Griffiths of Erub Erwer Meta says in the film:
"The theme for the show is about people's connections across the oceans. All the world's oceans and wwaterways connect us. We're all responsible for those oceans and waterways and how we manage them and the level of pollutants that are in the water is everybody's responsibility."SignificanceGhost-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.
