Bethany Bunker - 2023

Artist's Statement

I have been crocheting these reusable grocery bags for a while and when learning about how severe the oceans been impacted, I thought a fishing net would start conversation about it. When deciding how I would go about making the net I did a little research on what kind of fishing nets are used commercially. I learned that ghost nets are the most harmful. Ghost nets are ones that got abandoned or lost at sea. I thought it would be oddly fitting for me to make this net from one of the very things that we use often that end up polluting this planet.

To make both the bags and the fishing net I cut the grocery bags into strips, tied them together and crocheted them into a yarn like cord. For the bag, I then use it as a yarn to crochet, using a bigger hook, the bags. If the plastic is thick and durable enough, I forgo the first step. For the net I used the yarn like cord and the traditional netting tools used to tie nets, also seen in the picture. The orange spacer, or gauge, gives a consistent shape to form the loops while manipulating the cord that is held on the needle.