Arabic version: سمكة بوري من الأعشاب والبلاستيك تنضم إلى مهرجان «سويل»

According to ABC News, Gold Coast artists Ged McCormick and Rusty Linnane have created a five-metre mullet sculpture from invasive cat’s claw creeper vine, discarded fishing line and plastic litter. The work is installed on the Currumbin foreshore for the 24th annual SWELL Sculpture Festival, running from September 11 to 20.

The project began with a smaller idea involving red-nosed, fish-shaped soy sauce packets. The pair then considered an Indigenous fish trap woven from invasive plants before deciding to make a full-size mullet in that style. McCormick used half a parking space at his Palm Beach home as the work took shape.

Linnane, who works on ecological restoration projects, identified cat’s claw creeper as a suitable weaving material. The South American vine was imported as an ornamental plant and can climb trees, smother them in foliage and move on after they die. With state government permission, the artists harvested vines from an infestation in Nerang National Park, selecting lengths of up to 25 to 30 metres.

The artists wove several kilometres of vine into the fish and stitched discarded fishing line and other plastic litter into a net forming its stomach. Linnane said he hoped viewers would avoid single-use plastics and consider local native plants instead of exotic species. McCormick said the work could show younger people there is always an opportunity to express themselves through art. SWELL founder and artistic director Natasha Edwards said up to 100 local and international sculptors were transforming the coastline into a sculpture walk.