Are you Fishing Again this Summer?

Are you Fishing Again this Summer is a mixed and multimedia art installation comprised of two raingear clad figures, a video projection, a soundscape of piano music and conversations, and a small portion of a gill net spilling out into the gallery. The gill net leads the viewer into the room where they are invited to sit on a bucket, view the projection, and hear the sound collage. Behind them, two figures stand wearing fishing rain gear, their faces beaded and bejeweled to resembles salmonberries. They hold hands and look onward, watching the projection.

The video footage was captured last summer while I and my family fished, as we always do, for salmon on Harvester Island in Alaska. I carried cameras on land and snuck them into boats, capturing snippets of beauty while working long days. Cut all together now, moving water and landscapes are interspersed with portraits of family members present with me over that summer. Other snippets show figures in raingear on hills and slippery rocks standing as they do now behind the viewer. They represent the family and crew who have worn these clothes and looked upon these views. With my phone I recorded catches of conversations and composed piano music inspired by what I felt.

In a summer rife with change and grief, I sought to imagine a fruitful future ripe and red as salmonberries. By creating a space so far from its origin and reflecting on deeply personal experiences, I hope to comfort the viewer and edify the feelings of dislocation we all experience in the modern day.