Both the material and conceptual groundwork of my current art practice is rooted in the labour I engage in as a lobster fisherman. The physicality of the work forces me to focus on my embodiment and the repetitive nature of the labour becomes grounds for meditation and reflection. 

The lobster fishery is rich with tradition and superstition and my involvement with lobster fishing is not without contention. I often think about my place in the industry, the continuation of familial legacy, and reconciling tradition with new, more compassionate ways of engaging in the fishery.  One of the driving forces that led me to begin fishing was my late grandfather’s belief that women were bad luck aboard, a notion that I often challenge in my work. My practice serves as more than a portal into the often unseen world of lobster fishing. It is a process of healing. It is an attempt to posthumously mend strained familial relationships through understanding and empathy. It is the marrying of both physical and emotional labour.  

I often rely upon repurposed fishing materials such as old rope and trap lumber in my practice. Last fishing season I began to eternalize the fleeting moments of calmness and chaos that are characteristic of the industry through film photography. This documentation is currently being edited and incorporated into finalized works. I’ve also experimented with industry specific skills such as splicing rope and rigging lobster traps to create sculptures and installations. 

 I claim space in a tradition that would have otherwise been denied to me because of my gender, and through my work, I aim to carve out a future for myself as both an artist and a fisherman. My practice is ultimately a reclamation of space and an assertion of my presence in a tradition that was not initially mine for the taking. It’s an act of reconciliation, not only with the history of the lobster fishery but also with my family's complex past.