The making of Ghost Gannet: from ocean plastic to thought provoking art

A single image can replace an ocean of words, leaving an indelible mark on our soul. For me, that moment came at Noss Island, when I photographed a northern gannet entangled in ghost fishing rope. I had witnessed entanglement before, but nothing prepared me for the powerlessness of that day. The swell was up, the boat rolling, the bird spiralling on a rope that held it fast. I felt a physical pain above my heart, a rupturing grief — ‘what have we done?’ I muttered under my breath. As the boat pulled away I whispered to the bird, ‘I’m so sorry we did this. I’m going to make your life count dear one. You didn’t die in vain.’ That photograph, which became a finalist in Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024, gaining second place in the impact/conservation category and is the reason that sits behind the creation of Ghost Gannet.

The Ghost Gannet sculpture was born from a need to translate the scale of this crisis into something visceral and present. By building a life-size gannet from the very material that ensnares them, ghost gear collected from Thanet’s coastline, I wanted to show both the size of the bird and the layers of the problem.

The making of Ghost Gannet

The process of making the Ghost Gannet sculpture became a meditation on the weight of this problem. I began by projecting my own photograph of a gannet onto a sheet of MDF. Carefully tracing its outline before cutting the shape with a jigsaw. I gathered ghost gear collected from Thanet’s shoreline and began stapling it piece by piece onto the form. Building texture and density from the frayed ropes and plastic threads. The reclaimed industrial drum that now supports the gannet in the ISLANDNESS exhibition was discovered locally. Its weathered surface carrying its own story of use and discard.

When the sculpture was finally installed at Scotney Castle, the room filled with the unmistakable scent of the sea. Even after years adrift, the plastic holds the smell of saltwater, fish and tides. Visitors often comment that the piece carries not just the look of the ocean, but its atmosphere. A haunting reminder of how deeply plastic has infiltrated marine life.

What is ghost gear?

Ghost gear is the term for fishing nets, ropes and equipment that has been lost, abandoned or discarded at sea. Made from plastics like nylon or polyethylene, these materials are designed for strength, durability and resistance to the harshest marine conditions. They don’t degrade in the way natural fibres do. Instead, when exposed to waves and weather, they fray and fragment. A single rope can unravel into thousands of individual filaments, each breaking down further into microplastics.

This breakdown is where the true scale of the problem lies. Plastics never really go away — they just change form. What starts as a rope strong enough to trap a gannet can eventually become a cloud of invisible threads drifting through the ocean, carried on currents, inhaled or ingested by marine life, and entering food chains around the world.

The scale of the microplastics crisis

Microplastics have been discovered literally everywhere. From the deepest trenches of the ocean to the peaks of the Himalayas, in Arctic ice cores, drinking water, rain and even within human blood, these particles are inescapable. These plastic fragments are toxic, chemicals leach out. Many of them classified as ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not break down. These substances accumulate in the bodies of humans and wildlife, linked to disruption of hormones, reduced fertility and impacts on future generations.

The UN estimates that every year 640,000 tonnes of ghost gear enters the oceans. For seabirds like gannets, they often pick up ghost gear when gathering materials for nest building and with rope interwoven into their nests it is clear to see how dangerous this can be. A survey showed that 46% of nests contain plastic, but when you visit gannet colonies, it is easy to make out plastic in nearly every nest.

Why a sculpture?

Photography can hold a moment. Sculpture, however, can hold scale. With Ghost Gannet, I wanted to give visitors a physical encounter with the size of Britain’s largest seabird. Northern gannets have wingspans of up to two metres, diving from 30 metres high and hitting the water at speeds of 60mph to catch fish. They are powerful, breathtakingly beautiful birds — and yet they are brought down by fragments of our waste.

By shaping a gannet from ghost rope, the sculpture becomes a mirror. It reflects back both the grace of the species and the weight of what threatens them. It is a way of making the invisible visible. Helping people see how a material designed to last forever has become a ghost in the ocean, haunting wildlife.

ISLANDNESS at Scotney Castle

Ghost Gannet is exhibited within my ISLANDNESS collection at National Trust’s Scotney Castle. The exhibition explores liminal moments at the wild edges of earth, sea and sky. Within this, the sculpture anchors the narrative of ocean plastics and seabird survival. It sits alongside photography, film and storytelling that invite us to question our relationship with the sea and the material traces we leave behind.

Why it matters

The making of Ghost Gannet is not just about art, but about impact. It asks us to see differently, to connect the dots between a rope fraying on the shoreline of Thanet and the presence of microplastics in our own bodies. It reminds us that every piece of discarded gear continues to exist, continues to harm, continues to ripple outwards in ways we cannot always see.

By bringing this story into this space, the aim is to spark not just awareness but action. Because awareness alone is not enough. We need to act, to support policies that reduce plastic use, to demand accountability in the fishing industry, and to change our own relationship with materials that never truly go away.

See the Ghost Gannet

Ghost Gannet is part of ISLANDNESS exhibited at Scotney Castle until 17th October 2025. The exhibition is included with entry to the castle and grounds. A special thanks to Stu & Holly who contributed some of the buoys and fenders they have collected from the sea around Ramsgate.

For those who cannot visit in person, limited edition prints and impact-led visual storytelling projects are available through my print shop.

Stories have power when they move us to act. If Ghost Gannet speaks to you, share its story. Visit the exhibition, explore the print shop, or support conservation through organisations like Whale Wise. Every action, however small, helps shift the tide.