Erub Island artists working on ghost net artworks on the beach
On a Torres Strait island, a stone’s throw from PNG, a transformation of kinds is happening: something destructive and ugly is being turned into something very uplifting and beautiful. Erub Island artists are creating fantastic artworks inspired by the surrounding reef, using materials foraged from “ghost nets” – fishing nets that are lost or abandoned at sea and which float around the oceans ensnaring and killing wildlife. Last month I was lucky to be able to travel up to Erub Island as part of a feature article for The Weekend Australian magazine.
In this remote part of Australia, 400 people call the island their home. The Erub Arts Centre has been operating since 2002 and employees a dozen or so artists who drawn upon their traditional culture and seafaring heritage to create large scale collaborative installations that have been showcased all around the world. The Ghost Net artworks are based on the marine life found in the reefs circling the island and promote a message of ocean conservation. Here are some pics from this memorable editorial photography assignment.
