The Untangling

Exhibited at ONCA environmental justice gallery in Brighton throughout September 2023, ‘The Untangling’ celebrates the profound impact the trawling ban is having on the Sussex seabed ecosystem. It is a tale of hope where the once shimmering kelp forests, formed of giant seaweed plants reaching up to 3m high, are starting to return to our local area.

By the mid-1980s, 96% of the kelp forests in Sussex waters had disappeared. The ban came about in March 2021 as part of coordinated efforts between local and national partners to create the ‘Help our Kelp’ campaign, supported by David Attenborough. Rather than replant baby kelp plants, the partners made the decision to leave the seabed to regenerate of its own accord through a hands off process – which is an approach that has been successfully implemented by local conservation rewilding project Knepp.

A hand sewn quilt was hung in the window at ONCA, hand dyed with seaweed responsibly foraged from (and returned to) Brighton Beach and features a poem written to celebrate the regeneration efforts. The work explores the symbiotic relationships and questions the boundaries between human and non-human species. It draws parallels between the capitalist system mining our ecosystems as well as exploiting humans, where marginalised people, including black and brown folks, are disproportionately affected. ‘The Untangling’ is calling for increased rest, both for the planet and for people.