In July 2016, in going for a swim in the Apponagansett Bay (Dartmouth, MA), I needed neoprene booties to get to the water because of the slime on the rocks. Then, head above water, I swam briefly among the green and reddish-brown algae. The bay is filled with hundreds of sailboats, yachts and hobby fishing craft releasing their bilge water, and is lined with hundreds of coastal mansions with runoff and septic systems that directly nitrogenize the water. Too much legislation to “Save the Bay” points the finger at runoff from industry, and even cranberry bogs. It is time we all take a look at our personal impact on the water, stop playing NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), and take responsibility for our waste.
I wove this as a whole work representing the unity of our waterways and harbors, laced with fine green “algal” threads. I then cut, patched together and re-stitched it to represent our haphazard solutions to a blooming epidemic of our own personal making.
