Jimmy K Thaiday, an artist from the Torres Strait Islands, calls out to an installer operating a hydraulic lift high above him in the foyer of the Australian National Maritime Museum, telling him to adjust the oars on the outrigger canoe that will greet visitors to the Darling Harbour site.

"Nobody paddles that flat," he laughs. "Try 45 degrees-ish."

Mr Thaiday is one of 14 artists from Erub Arts whose work features in the Ghost Nets of the Ocean – or Au Karem Ira Lamar Lu – an exhibition that opens on Saturday.

Four of the artists displaying at the Ghost Nets of the Ocean exhibit: Jimmy K Thaiday, Marion Gaemers, Jimmy J Thaiday and Lynette Griffiths. Credit:Jessica Hromas

The works are not only intricate and beautiful but are made entirely from abandoned fishing nets and recycled plastics, highlighting the threat posed to wildlife and the health of the seas by these castaways. Nets are woven into turtles, fish and even a reef complete with bleaching corals.