On Sunday, April 20th, the MOLD / Field Meridians team hosted a workshop in collaboration with sculptor and researcher Sasha Fishman, along with Embodied Earth and Abby Regner at Rockaway Beach. Together, we built fire pits in the sand, wrapped fish in clay, sculpted them, and cooked them over open flames. We then shared a meal by the ocean, marking an evening of material exploration, connection with the surrounding waters of New York, and a ceremonial honoring of the fish as they transitioned into a new form.
This meal expanded off of Sasha’s existing research and work around local fish populations and her work with biomaterials. This event was a continuation of MOLD’s collaboration with Sasha, celebrating her first solo show Resurrectura at Murmurs Gallery, which showed a collection of Sasha’s work exploring interspecies relationships and ephemerality. With consultation from our network at MOLD, the organizing team for this event worked out how to best prepare fish in clay and use the natural resources available at the beach to make a beautiful meal.
Participants collaborated on the communal outdoor meal with great energy and thoughtfulness. Some guests contributed their own fish and clams, helped steward the fire pits, and created imaginative objects of their clay fish. Food was prepared by the team and served on ceramics made by Sasha and Abby specifically for the event.
Attendees enjoyed drinks courtesy of Lunar Hard Seltzer and Other Half Brewing.
Thank you to all who came, supported, and participated. A special thank you to Sasha, Abby, and Embodied Earth for making this come alive. We look forward to continuing with iterations of this project in the future.
