BEFORE, THE HERE & AFTER
Abandoned and discarded ghost nets linger in oceans across the planet. Faithfully performing their function, they fill and fall and rise and fill and fall and rise. Autonomous, 15 meters in depth 56 miles wide. These nomadic nets ghost fish our seas without human influence or supervision, a cyclical existence of life and death. Weighted by a catch no one wants, in a loop that could last 600 years.
The projection is primarily autonomous, the forms are born from a set of conditions set to create their own life cycle.
Their behaviour is cyclical, they mimic the ghost nets. They linger in this space, they have life and death, they too could last for hundreds of years.
The soundscape influences some behaviour, it is an environment for generative art. Collaged from field recordings taken around Bexhill with generative melodies constructed by Ian Carter and Nicola Kearey from the band Stick in the Wheel.
BEXHILL AFTER DARK FESTIVAL 2025
Before, The Here and After occupies a space between the digital and the organic, an ever-changing entity created through noise maps and complex algorithms. At its core, it represents a life force that refuses to remain static, perpetually morphing and regenerating.
This iteration of the installation was presented in the round as a 7m tall hanging in the centre of Beulah Church, Bexhill, above the pews. It had two layers of surface, an outer gauze and inner assemblage of found fishing waste giving the piece a volumetric presence for the projection to fall upon. This version was an accumulation of the two previous iterations allowing the piece to develop further and adapt to its setting. The generative piece ran for 3 hours and was visited by over 1,000 people over its duration.
SONO ELECTRO FESTIVAL 2024
In September 2024, we embarked on a bold exploration within the experimental confines of Electro Studio Project Space in St. Leonards-on-Sea, unveiling a reimagined iteration of our Ghost Net installation for the duration of the Sono Electro Festival. This version was uniquely anchored in the landscape itself, as we projected our generative artwork onto discarded fishing nets, salvaged from the beach in St. Leonards. These nets, vestiges of human industry, became a living canvas for the work’s evolving visual language.
Unbound by the constraints of time, the installation invited visitors to engage in a contemplative dialogue with the artwork at their own pace, with the ethereal glow of the projections being their only guide. The generative forms, ever-shifting and fluid, now evoked the delicate, luminous dance of bioluminescent plankton, weaving in and out of the nets in a symbiotic relationship. The interaction between these dynamic digital forms and the organic, maritime remnants created a hauntingly beautiful fusion of the natural and the artificial, the ephemeral and the eternal.
BEXHILL AFTER DARK FESTIVAL 2024
Our first commissioned generative artwork was unveiled at St. Barnabas Church on Sea Road, Bexhill, where it captivated viewers for a full three-hour duration. The piece unfolds as a layered tapestry of undulating, ever-evolving forms, each pulse reminiscent of netting suspended in the depths of the ocean. The intricate details evoke marine life, while the piece’s underlying concept draws inspiration from Ghost Nets—the abandoned, man-made menace haunting our seas and marine ecosystems. These lost nets, caught in an endless cycle of life and decay, rise and fall in the water, trapping and feeding as they go.
In creating this work, we found resonance between the nets’ autonomous, self-sustaining existence and the generative nature of our own piece. Though human-made, ghost nets persist without human intervention, constantly evolving, disintegrating, and regenerating in a rhythmic loop. This parallel informed our decision to use generative art as a medium to explore these themes, allowing the work itself to mirror the relentless, cyclical nature of the oceanic detritus it references.
Suspended 10 meters high in the church’s vaulted ceiling, the installation was projected onto a semi-transparent black net, which not only served as a canvas for the artwork but also seamlessly integrated with the architecture of the church, blurring the boundaries between the sacred and the natural world. The piece was accompanied by a soundtrack, partially driven by the evocative soundscapes of @stick_in_the_wheel, adding another layer of depth and immersion.
Throughout the festival, the installation drew over 1,000 visitors, many of whom lingered, captivated by the evolving visual narrative. The quiet space and contemplative atmosphere allowed viewers to spend long, meditative moments with the work. Social media reactions to the installation were abundant, reflecting the powerful impact it had on its audience.
Ghost nets now account for 30-50% of all plastic waste in the oceans, with over 100 million pounds of commercial fishing gear lost or discarded each year. Composed of synthetic fibers, these silent killers drift through the ocean, often traveling vast distances, remaining unseen and untouchable, leaving destruction in their wake.
Before, The Here & After was commissioned by 18 Hours for Bexhill After Dark
Many thanks to: Mandy Curtis and team at 18Hours/ Russell Meredith, St.Barnabas Church/ White Ice Sounds/ Robert Sample/ Piotr Nierobisz
