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Loose Ends

Metabolic Materials (MetMat) Exhibition

Columbia University GSAPP

2025

This installation examines the layered existence of the fishnet, following its journey creation to consequence. Born through a process of extraction, a fish net is crafted to serve as a tool for industrial fishing, turning marine life into a commodity. Yet its impact extends beyond human control.


Once lost or abandoned, it becomes a ghost net: a drifting, deadly object that continues to trap and kill without purpose or direction. No longer guided by human hands, it extracts life indiscriminately, haunting oceans for decades.


Dragged across the ground, the fishnet is shown in a different light, its slow, methodical path sweeping up dust, debris, and the overlooked. Everything that touches it is claimed, enacting a quiet form of violence. Through this passive act of gathering, the work reflects on the systems, ecological, economic, and social—that accumulate, entangle, and leave a mark, long after control is lost.

Faculty: Michael Wang

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