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    Greg Corbino’s Fish Puppets Made from Reclaimed Trash Migrate Along the Hudson River

    2022 performance of “Murmurations”
    at the River to River Festival. Photo
    by Robin Michals. All images shared with permission

    Greg Corbino’s Fish Puppets Made from Reclaimed Trash Migrate Along the Hudson River

    June 21, 2025

    ArtClimateNature

    Kate Mothes

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    Beginning in the Adirondack Mountains and flowing south into New York Harbor, the iconic Hudson River stretches 315 miles through scenic valleys and creative towns. It’s also a migration route for numerous species of fish, from sturgeon and bass to herring and eels, which head upstream every year to spawn. Contending with habitat destruction due to pollution and the effects of the climate crisis, the survival of these fish is increasingly imperiled. Fortunately, art and activism have a way of bringing these urgent issues to light while also bridging local communities.

    Last weekend marked the inaugural Fish Migration Celebration organized by Riverkeeper, an outfit devoted to protecting and advocating for the health of the Hudson River watershed. Unmissable amid the festivities were a series of large-scale puppets by artist Greg Corbino, part of his ongoing sculpture-meets-performance series, Murmurations.

    2022 performance of “Murmurations” at the River to River Festival. Photo by Robin Michals

    Corbino designed a larger-than-life gold sturgeon to adorn a sailing ship that led a flotilla from Chelsea Pier in New York City up to Croton-on-Hudson, home of Hudson River Music Festival. Corbino’s papier-mâché marine creatures, ranging from oysters and sturgeon to a seahorse and a whale, performed their own migration, parading along the riverbank in both locations.

    The artist describes the collective performance as a “puppet poem of city and sea” and creates each work from plastic trash he removes from New York City waterways and beaches. Through partnerships with events like the Fish Migration Celebration and New York City’s River to River Festival, he aims to highlight the impacts of climate change and raise awareness of increasing plastic pollution in our oceans.

    See more of Corbino’s work on his site.

    Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo by Priya Shah

    Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo by Rhiannon Catalyst

    Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo by Priya Shah

    2022 performance of “Murmurations” at the River to River Festival. Photo by Robin Michals

    Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo courtesy of Riverkeeper

    2022 performance of “Murmurations” at the River to River Festival. Photo by Robin Michals

    Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo courtesy of Riverkeeper

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    Josh Gluckstein Crafts a Teeming Reef from Recycled Cardboard

    “Reef.” Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation. All images courtesy of Josh Gluckstein, shared with permission

    Josh Gluckstein Crafts a Teeming Reef from Recycled Cardboard

    September 24, 2024

    Art Nature

    Kate Mothes

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    For the past four years, London-based artist Josh Gluckstein has highlighted the potential of an everyday material—recycled cardboard—to bring animal sculptures to life (previously). In his most recent piece, “Reef,” he expands on individual portraits to create a meticulously detailed two-and-a-half-meter-tall marine habitat teeming with a variety of fish and coral.

    “I fell in love with scuba diving ten years ago and was amazed that there was an entirely new world to discover underwater,” Gluckstein says. “I wanted to bring that experience to life on dry land.”

    Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation

    Gluckstein was invited to participate in Homo Faber 2024 in Venice, which this year traces the theme, “The Journey of Life.” Among the work of more than 400 artisans from around the world, “Reef” is Gluckstein’s most ambitious piece to date, featuring more than 50 different marine species.

    Sea turtles, an octopus, clown fish, and a blue spotted ray are among the creatures that swim around a column of coral. “The piece celebrates the wonder and rich biodiversity of our oceans, while raising awareness for the fragility of—and challenges facing—our marine life,” Gluckstein says.

    Homo Faber 2024 continues through September 30. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    You might also enjoy Ghost Net Collective’s marine animal sculptures made from the salvaged ocean waste that endangers them.

    Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation

    Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation

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