“CLIFF FISHING”
2022
Yarn, fishing line, assorted fishing lures and tackle, found wood, felt, muslin cloth, thread, photo transfers, spray paint, wire, glass
I’ve been a fishing fanatic since I was very young. Last winter, I almost died when I went fishing off a cliff in Big Sur, California, where a large wave knocked me off from where I was standing, submerging me under tons of water pressure and flinging me into a narrow gap between two rocks, which saved me from drowning in the water below. The cliff was next to a popular tourist lookout along the scenic 17-Mile Drive. I was scared I would drown. It’s now a funny story I tell to my friends.
The first structure is a central net form with fishing floats and fragments of narratives- embroidered stories of my own fishing experiences, fictional fish stories, photo transfers of 1920s illustrations taken from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources archives of the first fish I ever caught (a bluegill) and photo transfers of the cliff I fished on, taken from tourist photography websites. Suspended in the air are photo transfers of live fishing baits- worms, minnows, leeches. They are suspended in the air by the weight of the artificial fishing lures. The photo transfers and lures are connected with fishing line, which are threaded through wire loops in the structure on top of the net. Spray-painted wood create a grid structure on the top of the net that resemble fishing rods, from which felted scraps depicting cows and green landscapes hang inside. A crocheted a stuffed fish which I named Buddy, which hangs from the second structure thats entangled with objects of fishing detritus. Buddy hovers just off the ground on a homemade hook.