#shadcrossing

Ming Fay’s “Shad Crossing” (2004) at Delancey Street-Essex Street (F/J) celebrates the return of the once abundant shad fish to New York. These river herring typically spend the majority of their adult lives at sea and migrate up coastal rivers like the Hudson River in the spring. Considered a delicacy, shad played a vital role in the region’s history, however, due to pollution, overfishing and the construction of dams, migrations have declined, and commercial and recreational shad fisheries were closed in 2010. Ming Fay continues to investigate the symbolic relationship between the natural world and human needs or desires in his show “Beyond Nature”, on view at Sapar Contemporary through June 1.