Here are the earrings that I made as a contribution to Sarah’s art exhibit, which had the opening night on Friday!
Come by to see the gallery: http://www.kroad.com/events/listing/123
This piece was created as a pair of earrings because jewellery reflects personal choice. The purchase of seafood is a choice that individuals make, which impacts the fisheries and the environment. Fisheries significantly impact the environment through the removal of species and habitat destruction. One earring has four species that are commercially targeted by fisheries in New Zealand waters, which are listed by Forest & Bird as some of the worst choices: orange roughy, arrow squid, oreo, and hoki. The opposite earring has species that are greatly affected by these fisheries through bycatch: basking shark, New Zealand sea lion, albatross, and coral. Each animal is on a fishhook that is attached to a larger hook to show that the affects on a single organism are tied to the entire ecosystem. The purpose of this piece is to make visible the effects of commercial fisheries, which are often swept under the rug.
Heather Braid is a PhD student at the Auckland University of Technology studying the population genetics of arrow squid. As a Canadian that dreamed of studying squids, she moved to Auckland for grad school in 2011 because New Zealand waters have more species of squid and octopus than any other country. Since then, she has discovered new species of squids, found a squid that eats sharks, and is hoping that her current research will help to create a more sustainable squid fishery. She is vegan and particularly passionate about sustainability and conservation.