The Seaweed Cloak

17.3 in x 27.5 in x 59.1 in

fresh seaweed, shells, fishing net, and environmentally friendly fabric

2021

The floating seaweed cloak is inspired by the “Carbon Sink Fishery” that China has adopted to reduce carbon emissions. Through the project, tons of shells and seaweed have been bred, absorbing the carbon dioxide in the ocean. To make the cloak, I collected the top four breeding shells in China and various fresh seaweed. I connected the seaweed by stitching and added crochet as decoration. To make the cloak float, I applied water-proof fabric made by fishing net fiber under the seaweed. The seaweed shows the resilient nature: its leaves shrank when drying, and regained their shape when being put back into the water. The project illustrates ‘Complexity and Contradiction’. Though “Carbon Sink Fishery” can reduce carbon dioxide, it breaks the eco-cycle in the ocean. Despite people’s good intention of enacting more policies to protect the environment, some of them may make the environmental problems even worse because the execution is complex and bears lots of contradictions.

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