Vase with Sunflowers

Vase with Sunflowers
For the first time, discarded fishing nets have been repurposed as art. Recovered from the ocean, washed, and cleaned, these ghost nets — also known as ADLFG (Abandoned, Discarded, Lost Fishing Gear) — are pieced together to recreate Van Gogh's beloved masterpiece.
The artist's goal is to spread awareness about how ghost nets are deadly traps for dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, dugongs, and countless other marine animals.
Monofilament nets are cut to size, while nylon fishing ropes are frayed to create the iconic sunflower effect. These fragments are painstakingly arranged and pasted on canvas. Layers of acrylic paint are then applied using a range of synthetic and natural brushes to achieve the final effect.
The work recreated here is Van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers (1889), housed at Philadelphia Museum of Art — reimagined through a medium pulled from the sea.