The Tide Goes North
2013-2014
The Tide Goes North romanticizes the existential struggle of seasonal salmon fishing while contemplating the isolating and unforgiving nature of Nushagak Bay. Using personal journal entries and photographs, the work reflects on the 2013 and 2014 commercial set net season spent on Nushagak Point while questioning the concept of sustainability between man and nature.
Nushagak Point is a seasonal community that has been tied to the land for thousands of years. Located in Southwest Alaska in the northern end of Nushagak Bay near the confluence of the Wood and Nushagak Rivers. The Nushagak River is Bristol Bay's largest of six watersheds and makeup 50% of the total watershed area. The Yup'ik people have culturally, socially, spiritually, environmentally, and economically maintained a salmon based culture for the last 4,000 years. Half of the world’s population of salmon comes from the Nushagak River Watershed.