‘Siren Ghost Net 1’ is a painting from an ongoing series called ‘Song of the Siren’ based, in part, on the notion of the Siren from Ancient Greek mythology. The Sirens use their exquisite song to lure sailors to wreck their ships on the rocks after falling in love with their beauty and song, and are consequently taken to their death.
Many of the paintings from this series are from the viewpoint of someone immersed in the sea (but still above the water) rather than from the safety of the shore. However, the ‘Siren Ghost Nets’ are underwater worlds.
Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been discarded or lost in the ocean and are a form of pollution that has a direct impact on sea life.These nets become almost invisible its they drift around the open seas and entangle marine creatures such as dolphins, turtles and sharks, entrapping them and ultimately causing lacerations, starvation, suffocation, and death: thus becoming a metaphor for the Siren.
These paintings are both enticing and beautiful, yet laced, perhaps, with an unsettling menace that reminds us of the unpredictability and force of nature, and mans destruction of the environment.