Found@Sea: in collaboration with Shadow Traffic.
August 7th, 2021 at Fort Tilden Beach, NY
Evoking the impermanence of memory, and engaging the cycles of birth and loss that characterize New York’s physical as well as cultural landscapes, Found @ Sea combined storytelling, ephemeral found object sculpture, collaborative art making, and sustainability in a series of interventions that culminated in a participatory public event. The project invited ten creators to submit stories and construct sand castles about beloved lost objects designed to be washed away during high tide. Event-goers witnessed these ephemeral, natural found object sculptures and their stories before the tide engulfed them, and after, had a chance to construct a collaborative story based around bric-a-brac washed ashore. Found @ Sea is a piece meant to mourn the loss of things from the past, let them wash away, and invite new stories in by elements of fate and chance.
Prior to the event, we arranged a beach cleanup around Jamaica Bay organized by Lorena Dame to help revitalize the area and search for found objects used as fodder for the collaborative storytelling component of the event. We also held a paper kite making event, and learned about how to make a homemade eddy kite from local artist Kale Letter.
Beach Cleanup held at Jamaica Bay
Kite Making workshop held by Kale Letter
Jonah, Lauretta, and Bogdan clean the beach and find items to build their natural found object sculptures.
Rosa constructs a handmade kite for the event
Found @ Sea: August 7th, 2021
Dorothy Darker's "Red Couch and Pearls" performance piece. Photo by Jack Cavicchi
Dorothy Darker with her pearls, on her piece "Red Couch and Pearls." Photo by Jack Cavicchi
Kate Brehm's Womb piece, photo by Jack Cavicchi.
Kate Brehm performs inside of her Womb piece as it washes away. Photo by Jack Cavicchi
Kate Brehm's Womb piece, almost washed away by the high tide. Photo by Jack Cavicchi
Rosa Gaia's "On or In Your Head" hat piece made from stone and flowers. Photo by Jack Cavicchi.
Mor and her floating sculpture (lifted out of the sea before it washed away). Photo by Jack Cavicchi.
J. Eliza Wall's M87 piece about aging and time. Photo by Jack Cavicchi.
J. Eliza Wall's piece as its washed away. Photo by Jack Cavicchi.
M87 almost taken by the tide. Photo by Jack Cavicchi.
Lauretta Prevost's piece "Lauretta's Disengagment." Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk.
Skye Ruozzi's woven sea grass piece Releasea. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
Skye Ruozzi and Lysistrata Wong perform inside Releasea. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
Releasea begins to unravel. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
Releasea is taken by the tide. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
Misha Meyer tells a story from objects found washed ashore on our Beach Cleanup Day. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
Misha performs with found objects gleaned from Jamaica Bay and invites others to join in on the newly woven tale. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
a Mumulution party erupts after the storytelling, led by performance artist Heather Morowitz. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
We say goodbye to the high tide, taking all of our natural found object sculptures away. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
The last remnants of Dorothy Darker's "Red Couch and Pearls" sculptural component. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk
