The Black Bait is part of Fragmented Harmony, a collection that reimagines discarded objects to explore the tension between function and dysfunction, beauty and waste. This piece transforms found materials into a layered exploration of entanglement—ecological, existential, and cultural.

At its core lies a piece of driftwood, scarred by fire and shaped by water—a natural form that stands as both a victim of destruction and a survivor. Its blackened surface, now glazed, reflects an unsettling beauty reminiscent of petroleum and its byproducts. What was once a remnant of decay becomes something strangely captivating, pushing us to reconsider aesthetics within destruction.

Metal shark-fishing wires, found on the same beach, coil and twist over the wood. These wires—discarded tools of an ego-driven sport—speak to harm disguised as leisure. In their chaotic tangle, they evoke marine nets that ensnare creatures like sharks and endangered turtles, leaving ecosystems disrupted in their wake. Yet the entanglement here is more than ecological: the driftwood becomes a metaphor for humanity itself. We, too, are caught in invisible threads—ideas, habits, and commercialized lifestyles—that we scarcely question, yet that shape and restrict us.

Suspended delicately from the wire is a cube of charcoal, meticulously covered in gold leaf. This bait, shining and alluring, introduces tension. Its gleaming surface speaks of value, desire, and luxury, while its origins in burning and destruction suggest impermanence and decay. Positioned at the driftwood’s pointed edge, it becomes a seductive trap—an invitation that asks us to reflect on what draws us in and at what cost.

The wires remain unfixed, subtly shifting with touch, as if the piece itself were alive—responsive, fragile, and unsettled. This sense of instability mirrors the precarious ecosystems these wires threaten and the delicate balance we so often ignore.

The Black Bait compels us to see beauty and harm as inseparable. It creates harmony from fragmentation, turning remnants of destruction into objects that question our values and perceptions. At first glance, the piece seduces us with its polished forms and contrasts. Yet within it lies a confrontation: a reminder of the contradictions we accept in our lives, the ecosystems we disrupt, and the entanglements—both real and imagined—that hold us in place.

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