Process Stone Fish

The idea for these fish came after watching the trawlers punt up and down the horizon scooping up fish, while the small 'bakkies' or wooden fishing boats of the indigenous fishermen sat on the beaches, anchored by the new fishing quota system.

The system intended to give the small historical fishermen more direct access to the wealth of his labour in fact did him out of his daily bread. Paternoster is one of the historical fishing villages which, after having fed itself for centuries off the bounty (albeit ever diminishing, thanks to bulk fishing technologies) suddenly reached the bread line and below.

This made me realise that restaurant diners and the average household views fish in a very different way to the men who go out in all weathers to put food on the table. We see fish in supermarkets and fridges, beautifully presented and marketed. Fish fingers, fillets, on beds of rice, with sauce, batter, garlic butter.

So, I felt inspired to take those pieces of fish and reverse the process, putting the fish back together again. Thus the pieced together look.

The element of time comes into the equation. Fish have been evolving for approximately 600 million years. It has not taken us a fraction of this time to deplete certain fish species to extinction. Thus the name 'Process -Fish' seeks to suggest and incorporate the process of evolution through the processing plant and on beyond tipping point into extinction.

I have taken elements from all types of fish. The predator fish are my favourites as they have fascinating mouths. The back leg-like fin of the coelacanth makes these fish instantly recognisable as living fossils. I find it interesting that most fish species are a blur to the man in the street, but the coelacanth is a firm favourite and easily distinguished.

The stone-like finish of these high fired ceramic sculptures, (1200 degrees - the temperature of molten lava), and the Crete stone bases all add to the fossil--like look.

I am hoping to reconstruct the fish in time and space, and encourage the viewer to reflect and appreciate the millions of years it has taken to reach his plate.