Walk the talk, talk, talk...

Judith writes:

On this glorious day, we were out on assignment, Clem who needed to do community service for school was joined by her “Bestie” Dahlia. Unsure if we would be able to accomplish a clean-up task, if there would even be any plastic to pick up, off to Kehoe Beach we went.

The two sat in the back, on the drive out, so I could only hear wisps of words. I struggled to hear the details of their non-stop conversation —  a constant chatter, lively and free-ranging about finger nail polish, skin care, Kate Spade handbags, what to wear first day of school (Wednesday) world famous fashion model Gigi Hadid and on a more serious note about their summer required reading list that included stories about challenging topics — homelessness and hardship, divorce and abuse.

The on-the-trail banter continued all the way out to the beach. Along the way, together, we talked about Junipero Serra’s decimation of the native people. Clem remembered our visits to the Miwok village Kule Loklo and what fun we had at the Big Time Festival. And, we talked about the re-vision of history from the story I was told about Columbus “discovering” America to the history they are learning about the complex cultures that were here when he arrived.

Even with a clean beach, clean sand, pristine sand as far as the eye can see, for the discerning eye of “professionals” and student trainees, it’s never a problem to find plastic albeit micro or smaller.

Yards ahead of me, I could hear the sounds of their yackety-yack trail off into the distance as they headed for the far end of the beach.

They returned triumphant. Along with handfuls of minuscule pieces of plastic, they found the worst of the worst — two helium-filled mylar balloons — balloons are one of the most detrimental single-use plastics that impact marine life.

Oh such a glorious day, indeed. Mission Accomplished!!! Not only did we remove some plastic from the beach, we walked the talk and talked the walk. I'll say...

 👣   👣.  👣.  👣   👣.  👣

My sister, Janis Jones, in conjunction with the Surfrider Foundation San Diego, has been instrumental in efforts to get lighter-than air balloons banned in Encinitas. Their work continues in other coast-side towns: 

Solana Beach followed Encinitas’s lead and banned the sale, use, and distribution of helium-filled balloons. 
Carlsbad banned the intentional release of balloons.
Laguna Beach is considering a ban as well. 
Surfrider has a new balloon policy toolkit with resources for people interested in advocating for bans. 

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The Great Wave

 

We are so pleased with how the hanging turned out - beyond our wildest expectations - the way the net expresses all the power and "terrible beauty" of ghost fishing with the shadows casting, animating the space with an underwater feeling.

Artist Statement

As a powerful presence Remnant, reminds us of the problem of commercial overfishing, by-catch and whale entanglement. Buffeted by wind and surf, much of its beauty is the result of natural forces, plus there is mystique of its odyssey from ocean to beach. Intrigued with what unbearable beauty we might find in this mess of netting; inspired by jazz and the rhythm of poetry, we present this undulating form as a site for contemplation.

When one thinks about the journey this massive net has been on — lost from a fishing trawler in the Pacific Ocean, washed ashore on to Kehoe Beach then to the gallery here at Santa Clara University to see this "mess" presented in a formal setting gives one pause.

When you think of fishing you might harken back to a pole, a hook, with a worm dropped in a stream. Fond memories of catching and eating or catching and releasing. When you think of commercial fishing you probably think of giant nets swooping up a school of fish. You’re not wrong! Over 80% of fish are caught via nets. Industrial fishing nets with lengths up to 7 miles, catch and kill unintended species— bycatch fish, sea birds, turtles, and whales—en masse. In addition to removing large numbers of fish, many large-scale fishing practices also destroy aquatic habitat by dredging or seafloor trawling that scoops up everything that will be used along with much that will be discarded. This is extraction on a monumental scale. Fishing gear can be even more destructive when it becomes lost or forgotten in the water because it continues to “ghost fish” ensnaring animals that aren't being harvested for use. 

These snarls AKA “Ghost Nets” are pernicious entanglements of lost commercial fishing rope, monofilament,  Birds, fish, and marine mammals get caught in this silent floating debris —trapped in what is called “ghost fishing.”

Since 1999 Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang, have been collecting plastic from just 1,000 years of Kehoe Beach and along the way they have gathered huge quantities of ropes and netting. Most people don’t know about ghost nets because they have never seen one because most are lost at sea. But they do wash ashore and over the years they have amassed quite a pile of “inventory” in their barn and barn yard.

Many thanks to our colleague and friend, beachcomber, Richard James for retrieving this trawl net from the beach.

We are thrilled to be exhibiting our work with such an illustrious group of artists including: Brandon Anderton, Tess Felix, Peter Hassen, Liz Hickok, Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle, Hughen/Starkweather, Luc Janssens, Josh Keyes, Laura Arminda Kingsley, Richard Lang, Judith Selby Lang, Courtney Mattison, Allison Watkins and Angela Willetts

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