Artist Name: Jimmy K Thaiday
Artwork Title: Beizam
Year: 2025
Medium: 3D Woven - Ghost Net, Fish Line, Rope, Wire
Dimension: Length 155cm x Width 48cm x H 41cm
Catalogue #: GTCCAAJKT01
Story:
"This sculpture has been intricicately hand-stitched using reclaimed fishing nets - commonly known as ghost nets - that drift aimlessly across our oceans. These abandoned nets entangle and kill marine life indiscriminately, becoming silent and deadly traps beneath the surface. By salvaging and repurposing these materials along with other ocean debris.
I bring new life to the very creatures most vulnerable to this threat - like the Beizam, the shark.
In the Torres Strait Islander culture, sharks hold profound cultural and spiritual significanve. They are revered as totems across various island communities and are often represented in traditional dances, where performers wear shark - shaped headdresses or facemasks and emody the powerful movements of the animal. The shark is also emdedded in our skies - apprearing in the Beizam/Baidham constellation. When Beizam/Baidham rises in the night sky, it signals important seasonal changes and guides us in hunting, fishing and navigting the rhythms of sea and land.
While sharks are often feared along with the Austalian costline as dangerous predators, the marine debris created by human activity is equally, if not more, lethal. Through this work, I honour the cultural reverence we hold for Beizam and draw attention to the urgent need to protect our oceans from the ongoing harm caused by ghostnets and plastic waste. By transforming these destructive materials into art, I seek to 'restore' the sharks place not only in the waters, but in our stories, skies and cultural memory."