On the artist’s island of Badu and on a number of the
uninhabited islands close by are an abundance of fish traps.
These are constructions of rock walls that are submerged at high
tide but exposed at low tide thereby enabling the capture of an
abundance of marine creatures. At low tide the easily seen fish
are speared, however many secret themselves in the rock walls.
In order to harvest these a narcotic liquid called Sazi, made
from the root of a particular plant, is introduced into the
water. This temporarily stuns the fish, octopus and other edible
marine species. The location of the traps and positing of the
rock walls is far from haphazard. The islander’s intimate
knowledge of the sea and the behaviour of the creatures that
inhabit it, their feeding patterns and habitat are all
considerations that are taken into consideration in the
construction of these traps. The embossed and lightly coloured
fish can be seen entering and trapped in the rock enclosure.