Fathom:Measure (depth of water) with sounding line, get to the bottom of, comprehend, arch, encircle with arms as in measuring.
Conceptual background for the work:Recently National Television showed film taken by Greenpeace activists protesting thepractice of “Deep-sea Trawling” in the Southern OceanThe footage showed huge ancient deep sea corals ripped from the ocean floor as “bi-catch” of this destructive method of fishing, being winched onboard, discarded and dumped back into the sea. The coral is thought to be 500 years old. This installation includes is a series of hand cut and laser cut sculptures that make reference to the beautiful tree-like gorgonian coral and the trawling net. The stylised works draw parallels between underwater forests of coral and the rich archive of universal and archetypal Tree of Life images. Deep sea trawling has been likened to the destruction of the ancient kauri forests
Grateful thanks to Greenpeace for making available the film footage.
Video Editing : Nicholas Bennett.