Reflection

Reflection

The ghost net is a specific type of plastic pollution resulting from fishing nets left or lost in the ocean by fishermen. These nets, often invisible in the dim light, are left tangled on rocky reefs or drifting in open sea and entangle fish, dolphin, sea turtles, dugongs, and other creatures. To represent the beauty of the ocean, I used watercolor as its transparent nature makes the drawing look like real water. The drawing is divided into two parts to compare two distinct environments. In the upper part, the entangled mermaid is struggling to tear the net apart to be free from the dirty water. These nets also keep other creatures from going anywhere as well. In the lower part, the nets split up gradually and disappear into the clean water. The beautiful fish, jellyfish, and mermaid’s tail show that they are in a healthy environment. The message I want to convey in my piece is to warn that people will one day become like that mermaid if we continue to be careless with fishing nets. Furthermore, the action of lacerating nets can be understood as a solution to the animals entangled in nets. In the lower part, which includes the mermaid’s tail, I chose to keep it clean to represent the hope that we can keep mermaids and all ocean animals free from ocean pollution.