Untitled (Nets)
2025

Sculpture series of 3
72" x 84"
Tarred fishing nets, permitting forms
 


In my experiences of trying to gain public access to the NYC waterways, I have encountered numerous permits, each of which required meetings with experts to decipher them. The layers of regulation that have been constructed to support, maintain, and oversee industrial, commercial, and military use of the waterways have severed public understanding of and access to them. Each textile piece is a regulation fishing net. Parts of each net are cut away, corresponding to different information entry fields on waterways permit applications. 
Shown here are exhibition views of two of the three in the series. Left: (Application for permit for) FLOATING OBJECTS OTHER THAN AIDS TO NAVIGATION; Right, SHORT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FORM

Installation view at the 3rd Works on Water Triennial, fall 2025, LMCC Arts Center, Governors Island





©2025 Nancy Nowacek
Nancy Nowacek artist is a research-based artist, designer, and educator working in visual art, public art, social practice, and socially-engaged contexts.