Casting Nets & Sowing Seeds
Nets hold deep social and spiritual meaning across the Philippines and throughout the Pacific. In Filipino ancestral cosmologies, the net is more than a tool for survival. It is a threshold that moves between worlds, shaped by water, the source of life, and by the relationships it holds. It reflects community, interdependence, and care.
Here, the net carries that meaning into a living landscape. It temporarily stabilizes creek banks after invasive plants are removed, holding soil in place while native species begin to establish themselves. Over time, it will gradually return to the earth, giving way to root systems that strengthen the slope, slow runoff, and reduce flooding.
This net is also the site of a shared, social act. Through activities hosted at the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis’ Levitt Vibe Concert Series, 8-foot sections of erosion netting are transformed into seed blankets through community participation. Words, memories, and hopes expressed by community members on handmade native seed paper punctuate the planting with bursts of color and pollinator support, turning restoration into something collectively made and felt over time.