Transforming Representations of Marine Pollution. For a New Understanding of the Artistic Qualities and Social Values of Ghost Nets

Abstract

In the last few years, an increasing number of texts published in environmental journals and in art magazines have addressed the “ghostnet” issue and referenced how artists in Northern Australia use discarded or abandoned nets to create art and craft items. By analysing the artistic life of the ghost nets, from the creative process to trade networks, this article provides a new perspective on marine pollution and highlights Australian Indigenous peoples' agency toward this environmental and global issue. It presents ghostnet art as a transgenerational and transcultural practice that reflects the articulation of Indigenous and Western knowledges, two systems of thought and action that are united to solve ecological, economic and cultural issues.