“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
— John Muir

John Muir’s quote about nature is also true for individuals, for communities, and for fishing nets. Connective tissue is the net that holds our bodies together. Networks are what binds our neighborhoods. And the fishing net is the fiber that captures Gloucester’s social, cultural, and economic story, a complex weave of heritage and history.
“The Net Works” is a multi-sensory installation built upon the narrative of Gloucester’s fishing community. The fishing net serves as the literal and metaphorical embodiment of this concept in an immersive exhibit that creates a texture of scents, sounds, and tactile experiences, where the visitor, like a fish, moves through a passage of netting.

This is not only an installation about the fishing community but also for the community, as well as other visitors.
Designed to be a visceral experience, the exhibit aims to give each visitor a deeper understanding of how each of our actions moves the whole, and perhaps, pause to consider our actions in a larger network of civilization.

The installation incorporates accessible and inclusive design that invites exploration and engagement. While all the visitors will be in the same net, so to speak, the experience will look and feel differently to each of them.