The iconic Hudson River starts from the Adirondack Mountains and flows south into New York Harbor, crossing scenic valleys and creative towns, extending 315 miles. From st fish and bass to herring and eels, this is also a migration route for many fish, upstream to spawning every year. These fish survive more severely as they suffer from habitat damage caused by pollution and climate crisis. Fortunately, art and activism have a way to reveal these urgent issues while also bridging the local community.
Last weekend, it marked the first fish migration celebration organized by the River Administrator, which is dedicated to protecting and advocating for the health of the Hudson River Basin. Not to be missed in the celebration are a series of large puppets by artist Greg Corbino, a part of his ongoing sculptures-performance series, Murmuring to myself.
Corbino designed a larger than life golden stroll to decorate a sailboat that arrived from a boat at Chelsea Pier in New York City to the residence of the Hudson River Festival, Croton-Hudson. The Papier-Mâché marine life in Corbino, from oysters and stfish to seahors and whales, conducted its own migration, parading along the river bank in both places.
The artist described the collective performance as “a puppet poem of the city and the sea” and created each piece with plastic garbage he removed from New York City’s waterways and beaches. Through partnerships with the fish migration celebrations and events at the New York City River Festival, his goal is to highlight the impacts of climate change and raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans.
Check out more of Corbino’s work on his website.
