Media release – Neighbours of Fish Farming, 7 June 2024
Dark MOFO Winter Feast visitor asked a confronting question: “What are you willing to sacrifice for your salmon dinner?”
New art installation in Hobart’s waterfront
A major art installation will be unveiled this evening in Mawson Place, Hobart, featuring a large-scale image with religious overtones … and a clear message about the destructive impact of unsustainable salmon farming.
Mawson Place, Hobart, 5.30pm, Friday, June 7
The artwork was inspired by revelations that salmon producer, Tassal, was responsible for the deaths of 89 native greater cormorants at the end of last year – 53 shot and killed, the remaining birds dying in nets covering the fish pens.
The work will be installed in the Huon Valley Artbox which has been moved into Mawson Place until June 26, and will greet visitors to Dark Mofo’s Winter Feast that runs from June 13 until June 23 as they promenade on the waterfront from June 13 until June 23.
The work is a collaboration between prize-winning Huon Valley artist Jessica Coughlan and Hobart artist, Amy Brown working as part of the Kali Project.
“The Kali Project leans into the beauty and gore of classic art masterpieces and religious iconography to draw attention to unsustainable natural resource use and animal cruelty at the hands of industry,” says Jessica Coughlan.
“In this piece, we invoke the sublime, a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty of nature, but upon closer inspection, the lives of 89 cormorants are dead, in their death-throws, or on their way to certain death in their approach into the scene.” said Jessica Coughlan.
Artist Amy Brown says “the impact of industrial fish farming on the Tasmanian seascape is centre stage in this drama. Our photographic narrative depicts the sacrifice made by the land, sea, river and sky country of lutruwita (Tasmania).”
Brian Quinn
June 8, 2024 at 13:21
A lot of criticism has been thrown at the Salmon Industry.
I think it is doing a great job.
AG
June 8, 2024 at 23:11
If they were talking about actual large scale environmental impact rather than about 89 birds, ie the massive damage to the ocean life, I’d support it. This smacks of people who have no idea what it takes to feed millions of people in their taking the most basic and childish view.
To top it off the actual name of Tasmania is in brackets for woke virtue signalling points. Imagine being so disconnected as to push a name that belongs to less than 4% of the population, namely left wing bigots. This isn’t about helping anybody – just showing off to other people who don’t work for a living.
Talking down to people only makes them ignore your message.
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* For puzzled readers:
There are detailed quality explanations about wokeness here: https://theconversation.com/heres-what-woke-means-and-how-to-respond-to-it-219588 where this appears …
“Typically, “wokeness” and “woke ideology” are terms of abuse, used against a variety of practices that, despite their diversity, have a similar character.
“Often, what is dismissed as “woke” is a new practice that is recommended, requested, enacted or enforced as a replacement for an old one.”
— Moderator
Roderick
June 9, 2024 at 19:29
“Woke”!
Well, I have always assumed that means people who have awoken to the lies corporations spread to avoid facing the consequences of their moneygrubbing and polluting enterprises.
I now introduce a new word, unwoke, or perhaps asleep, meaning unaware, not awakened.
Jack
June 9, 2024 at 22:47
Pollution in Tasmania is fine – as long as it’s below the waterline. Don’t forget the millions of tonnes of nitrogen pumped into the pristine waters of southern Tasmania.
The Huon River from Port Huon around to Dover has been hijacked and ruined. So much for our ‘clean green’ image! I’m not sure if these fish are feeding the poor of this world.
I’m all for jobs, but not at the expense of the environment.
Nea
June 10, 2024 at 00:20
The term ‘woke’ actually refers to virtue signallers who typically tend to be politically left leaning. My own opinion about this article is that it describes woke virtue signalling.*
Sure Tassal has issues, and it needs to be environmentally responsible, but this art seems more like activism than art to me.
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* The Cambridge Dictionary defines virtue signalling as ‘an attempt to show other people that you are a good person, for example by expressing opinions that will be acceptable to them, especially on social media’
— Moderator