Philippine Trench Painting

Shifting This collection of mixed media paintings was first conceived after reading about the discovery of the “ghost fish” in the Marianas Trench December 2014. The trenches were initially considered a place to house spent nuclear waste. The proposal suggested subduction activity of the trenches would “push” the nuclear material deep into the earth’s mantle. The discovery of the fish, a vertebrate, living over 8000 meters below the surface in the Mariana Trench halted the nuclear waste proposal sites. Horrified that our oceans, indeed, our single ocean, would be considered a further dumping ground for nuclear waste, I created these works. Beautiful, textural and engaging, the materials reflect some of the many waste products used, discarded and abandoned in our oceans. Waste that is inert, but non recyclable, was incorporated. These highly textured works spark conversation, and hopefully, give one a moment to pause before purchasing the next convenience item. The materials used in the creation of these mixed media works include non-indigenous things found swirling through our oceans, and in our deepest ocean trenches: plastics, glass, trash, paint and silica.

“A ghostly never-before-seen fish with wing-like fins has set a new depth record for fish. During a recent trip to the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, the deepest place on Earth, the previously-unknown snailfish was filmed several times floating along the dark sea floor, reaching a record low of 8143 metres below the surface. The unusual fish, spotted on the expedition, which was led by Jeff Drazen and Patty Fryer of the University of Hawaii, has a different body shape from other known varieties of snailfish. It boasts broad, translucent fins, stringy appendages and an eel-like tail that allows it to glide smoothly. Snailfish are known to thrive at extreme depths. Handling the intense pressure of the deep sea is a challenge for most animals because it impedes muscles and nerves and bends proteins out of shape, disrupting the working of enzymes required for life.” - Chris Baraniuk and Sandrine Ceurstemont, New Scientist Dec 19, 2014 Fascinated with the newly found fish, and the ocean trenches themselves, I explored the bathymetry, maps, of the ocean floor. These trenches were moving and shifting, expanding and contracting. Subduction became a common place word. Each trench and ridge had its own personality, while sharing many of the same features. The sculptural paintings reflect the “shape” of the trench or ridge, and allow the imagination to wander through the depths of the work. The trenches, the ridges, and the plates connect and unite us all. Phillipine Trench, 48” x 60”, I chose an area of the trench that split off and had multiple sections. The paint technique more opalescent. The deepest part of this trench is 34,596 feet (10,545 meters).