The American Shad fish is a species of fish naturally distributed on the North American Coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida. The Shad may be cooked in a variety of ways with their eggs considered a delicacy. Also, used as bait for Cat Fishing, we raise them, cut them into pieces and feed them to other fish. You can in fact google and find a whole lot of articles on how to find, catch, and use this fish to catch another but you can also buy it prepackaged “which is what I did”.
The concept of using a beautiful, delicate, and health fish to catch another is questionable and through this work on contemplate why we would do this? Why would we use one life to entrap another? What are the moral and ethical problems?
Created in 2019 this work represented the culmination of my undergraduate studies as my senior show in which I explore American’s violent nature and dominating attitudes toward the natural world. Through a process of scanning the fish pieces, creating a dark haunting dark background, and leaving whatever belonged naturally to the fish I attempt to ask far more questions than I have answers.
