Holdfast, a work in multiple parts, contrasts beauty and decay in a painterly epic about a starving tidal ecosystem. Three views isolate a tiny portion of
the coastal zone during a changing tide on Nova Scotia’s eastern shore, known for its dramatic ebb and flow. Despite adequate water circulation, native
seaweeds that were once a vibrant and healthy shade of green are deteriorating and detaching from their holdfasts, the point at which they attach to rock.
The cause of their burned and bleached appearance stems from human causes. The negative impact of over-fishing on aquatic plant life – and inter-
dependence with the greater food chain – has been largely ignored by locals and scientists alike. Just as deforestation happens on land, so it does in
the ocean.

Holdfast, 2007, HD video / sound, dim. variable

Part 1, (7 min. 38 sec.) shown at left
Part 2 (1 hr. 28 min. 40 sec.)