With “The Figurehead”, I wanted to illustrate some of the driving forces behind the destructive practices in the commercial fishing industry, particularly overconsumption and overfishing. Soon after taking on this print design challenge with PangeaSeed Foundation, an image of this beast of a fishing vessel, trawling through the ocean like an opulent colonial ship, forced its way into my sketches. This is the kind of ship that historically brought with it a similar entitlement to, and reckless depletion of, precious resources.

Of course at the head of any serious vessel was the figurehead, a sculptural embodiment of the ship’s purpose. In this sense, although a real solution to the problem of overfishing will require the help of international policymakers, we as consumers are the ones strapped to the prow. We wield the collective symbolic power that is embedded in our consumption choices. We need to try our best not to disassociate from the source of our food, like the indifferent maiden at the front of this vessel, and be especially conscious that if at all, we are eating seafood that is non-threatened or sustainably farmed or harvested.