The European Eel has one of the most extraordinary migration paths of fish; they traverse from the Sargasso Sea, to certain UK rivers and then back after 20 years, at the end of their lives. To facilitate this, they undergo five stages of biological metamorphosis during migrations. Dubbed as from the ‘entrails of the earth’ by Aristotle, these creatures have cast mysteries for centuries.

However, although eels have traversed the planet since the Cretaceous period of the Dinosaurs, they are now critically endangered with a population down by 95%. Built infrastructure in rivers such as dams and weirs are amongst the biggest transgressors. These have been erected throughout the ages to exploit rivers for power and water supplies with a disregard for the river’s ecology.

Without freedom of movement, eels wallow in impounded, stagnating river sections that prevent passage to complete their life cycle. Obstac(eels) contemplates the vulnerability of the European Eels in the Kent river environment lacerated with man-made weirs.