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During Hughes' time on the Island of Gapado, he often found himself obsessed by the ocean's nocturnal allure, in conjunction with the strange beauty of the light reflections from the squid-fishing vessels that dotted the horizon. As they bobbed in the darkness, their lights pierced through the night, casting an ethereal, strange glow across the water and sky.
These squid-fishing boats employed arrays of intensely luminous bulbs to lure squid to their demise. The lights cast an otherworldly reflection upon the low clouds in the sky from the ocean's surface. Late one evening, in the act of contemplation of this scene, he placed a collected wasted PET bottle on Gapado AiR's roof terrace overlooking the small harbour. By juxtaposition of object and visual scene, Hughes draws us to consider the intricate web of human activities shaping the ocean's fate. Through this and his other artistic explorations, Hughes delves into the pressing issue of plastic pollution in our oceans, seeking to breathe life into discarded waste matter and provoke contemplation on humanity's impact on marine and wider ecosystems.
© Andy Hughes 2022 / No Unauthorised Copying
To imitate the calcareous tubes commonly found on shells, stones, and flotsam at the seashore. Hughes used moulded surf wax to attach tentacles onto this Turban shell that he collected from the rock pools on Gapado Island's coast. The turban shell or conch or Jeju's sora is also known as the Tangerine of the Sea. Collected in shallow sea areas around Jeju and Gapado Island along with abalone they are one of the primary sources of income for Haenyo 해녀 / sea women] female divers. Both video works are part of an ongoing series of video vignettes where still photographs are used and post-produced through various methods to bring life and presence to inanimate objects.
© Andy Hughes 2022 / No Unauthorised Copying
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