THE KUROSHIO SERIES
From 2016 to 2019, Ethan worked as a marine biologist each summer studying bluefin tuna in small fishing villages in Japan. Inspired by the linear yet dynamic wave patterns he saw carved into Shinto shrines, he mentally overlayed that imagery with the large quantities of old fishing rope he found piling up in local harbors and washed up on otherwise pristine beaches.
The Kuroshio (Black Current) is a powerful current flowing along Japan’s East coast. It transports tuna larvae northward from their tropical breeding grounds, but is also a conduit for plastic debris to flow from Asia into the Pacific. Informed by his work with local fishing communities and his training with Stanford art professor Terry Berlier, Ethan’s artwork highlights the “ecology of materials”- asking viewers to consider the full lifecycle of objects and products. His work aims to simultaneously highlight the negative impacts of marine debris while promoting sustainable fishing practices across the Pacific.
The Kuroshio (Black Current) is a powerful current flowing along Japan’s East coast. It transports tuna larvae northward from their tropical breeding grounds, but is also a conduit for plastic debris to flow from Asia into the Pacific. Informed by his work with local fishing communities and his training with Stanford art professor Terry Berlier, Ethan’s artwork highlights the “ecology of materials”- asking viewers to consider the full lifecycle of objects and products. His work aims to simultaneously highlight the negative impacts of marine debris while promoting sustainable fishing practices across the Pacific.
"Arashinoumi/Stormy Seas"
2023
114 inches wide x 52 inches tall
"Kuroshio No. 60" (2021) 72 inches wide x
28 inches tall
"Kuroshio No. 30" (2019) 45 in diameter with Douglas Fir frame.
"Kuroshio No. 61" (2022) 52 inches wide x 36 inches tall
"Kuroshio No. 54" (2021) 60 inches wide x 30 inches tall.
"Kuroshio No. 83" (2025) 40.5 inches in diameter.
"Kuroshio No. 58" (2021) 26 inches in diameter.
"Kuroshio No. 1" (2017)
"Kuroshio No. 59" (2021) 40 inches wide x 28 inches tall.
"Kuroshio No. 11" (2018)
"Kuroshio No. 68" (2022) 36 inches wide x 24 inches tall.
"Kuroshio No. 64" (2025)
"Kuroshio No. 51" (2020)
"Kuroshio No. 84" (2025)
"Uroku No. 1" 24 inch diameter.
"Kuroshio No. 69" (2023)