Poetry net series
2019-2020
Shortlisted for Sovereign Art Prize 2020
Poetry Net Series, (c) Nicola Anthony
a poem about migration and hope, woven into a fishing net
Hand cut recycled plastic, nylon string, collaged on white canvas.
100 x 100cm each
It at first appears to be a tangled fishing net but on closer inspection it reveals itself to be the very finely cut text of a poem with letters only 6mm high.
The icon of the fishing net acts as a symbol of the global migrant crisis which has left families stranded and drowning - referring to the tension between capturing, saving, rescuing, imprisoning or providing, as well as the many migrant escape boats which continue to be in peril.
These pieces have taken over five years to compose. The research process involved collecting stories and testimonies via interviews conducted across Asia and Europe over the past 6 years, gathering individual testimonies and collective memory. Focusing on migrants who are disenfranchised or displaced, the artist noted repeatedly that even in the darkest times, communities and individuals expressed thoughts about hope, love, and home as well as the disconnect and ‘othering’ they experienced. The migrants who spoke out approached the symbols of hope and migration through their own words or those of prayer, mantras, sayings, aphorisms or simply words of advice they have held in their mind. These sentiments stood out as a shared human mantra, and the artist has spent time composing them into a poem which captures the feeling of hope in the face of adversity - the divide, disconnect, uprooting, and reconnection.
The quotes which became 'collaged' into the artists poem transformed into a net, which in turn transformed into an artwork on canvas - if you would like to read the poem which has been called a 'shared human mantra', it can be found here.
Other info:
Featured on RTE News here.
Thank you to the following research partners and research platforms:
Shortlisted for the following awards:
