I Damn Near Drove Off the Road When I Saw This at Portland’s Payson Park

My first thought was that I stepped into an episode of 'The Last of Us'.

I was on my way to something and with the construction around Back Cove (when IS that damn road gonna be done?!) I saw something that made me go back when I had some time!

Now you have to understand...I'm driving. So my quick observation led me to think these looked like some kind of spore that makes people zombies on the HBO hit, 'The Last of Us'!

But no...it's not that. Actually, it's very cool. This is an art exhibit called, Beneath the Forest, Beneath the Sea. My favorite part are the materials used: abandoned fishing gear, steel, and rope. The exhibit is described in part as

an underwater arboretum crossed with outer space creatures” created from over 10-tons of “ghost gear” – trawling nets, ropes, buoys, lobster traps, and other fishing debris – salvaged from the Gulf of Maine.

The artist Pamela Moulton worked with over 5,600 students and collaborators detangling, weaving, painting, and assembling the sculptures.

Moulton says on the website,

These are sensory sculptures and I hope people will touch, crawl, and picnic under them, and marvel that these materials were just recently lost and haunting the bottom of the ocean. I’m happy that many will enjoy the art simply for its beauty and whimsy, and I hope it will additionally inspire some to contemplate, discuss, and get actively involved in the deeper underlying environmental issues.

I love Portland. I truly do. I love what a foodie, artsy city it is. I love that artists will plop down big old pieces of their work right in the middle of a park. I love that it's made from waste from fishing. That's the best use of old nets ever.

It's definitely eye-catching. If you find yourself in Portland with a picnic lunch, head over to Payson Park to see Beneath the Forest, Beneath the Sea!