This
series of portrait photographs commemorate the fish I raised
from baby fingerlings to full-grown adults. They lived in
Farm Fountain, a 100 gallon aqupaonics artwork that Ken Rinaldo
and I developed for growing edible fish and plants in our
home. After two years of caring for the fish and eating the
salad greens fertilized by the growing fish, I killed, de-scaled,
gutted, cleaned, cooked and ate the fish. It was delicious,
but I truly appreciate the fish counter at the grocery store
now. Each time I killed a fish was horrific; slippery flopping,
sharp fins poking, hammer bonking, fish muscle twitching,
scales flying, thick skin cutting, organs tearing and bloody
rinsing. The portrait photographs were made in an attempt
to honor the fish in a way that the killing process did not.
The
greens are much easier to kill and eat. They have also provided
food for fungus gnats, leaf hoppers and aphids. Fortunately, the ladybugs
are keeping the aphids at bay and spraying natural neem oil on the plants
has taken care of the other bugs. |