Ocean Pollution

Introduction:

This portfolio was created to showcase artists who use their work to raise awareness to the pollution of plastic that has taken over our oceans. These artists include Chris Jordan, Brian Yurasits, and Angela Haseltine Pozzi. The first theme present in this portfolio is toxicity to nature. You will see how plastic pollution has caused harm to our oceans and the beautiful creatures that live there. The second theme present in this portfolio is inspiration and education. All of these artists use their work to educate the community and hopefully inspire them to cause less plastic waste.

Analysis:

This image was taken by the photographic artist Chris Jordan in his 2009 project called “Midway: Message from the Gyre.” On the island of Midway, thousands of albatross chicks die from starvation, toxicity, and chocking. In the image above, and all of the other images in “Midway,” not a single piece of plastic was moved or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach content of these albatross chicks. Midway is one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries and is more than two thousand miles from the nearest continent. The parents of these babies collect what looks to be like food, but instead they are confused and bring back plastic from the polluted ocean. Chris Jordan has done many other project related to mass consumption and the waste that us human’s create.

This image was taken by photographer and marine biologist Brian Yurasits. He uses his platform and media following to spread awareness of the biggest threats to our oceans such as plastic pollution, overfishing, and climate change. Posting these images can open the minds of people who may not live near the beach and do not see all of the trash there is. On his website, Yurasits also provides links to education services and ways you can take action. In this image, we can see a more recently upcoming issue; littering PPE. Yurasits comments that he has noticed more and more masks and other PPE being left on beaches ever since the rise of the coronavirus. This image is powerful because it shows how something that was once used to protect us humans is now harming the creatures of our oceans.

This image was taken at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and is part of a project called “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea.” Washed Ashore is a non-profit organization that uses art to educate its viewers about plastic pollution in the ocean and aim to spark positive changes in consumer habits. This organization was created by Angela Haseltine Pozzi. When Pozzi noticed all of the trash on the beaches of her home town in Oregon in 2010, she decided to do something about it. She gathered up a team of volunteers and they cleaned the beaches and used the debris to construct massive sculptures of the sea creatures most affected by the plastic pollution. These sculptures now tour as “Washed Ashore: Art to save the Sea” and travel to many different locations, educating and inspiring people all around the country.

Application:

I believe that all of the art in this portfolio is important because it raises awareness to an issue that has major impacts on nature and the world we live in today. Not only does this show the problems in the ocean, but also the issues with consumerism and the waste we create from man-made objects. Nowadays, almost everyone has social media. Artists such as Brian Yurasists take advantage of this to raise awareness of ocean pollution by posting the trash that can be found everyday on our beaches. Chris Jordan also uses his art to provide powerful images related to different problems with consumerism, such as the plastic pollution shown in his project “Midway.” Angela Haseltine Pozzi travels around the country with her art and team of volunteers to inspire people with beautiful sculptures while also talking about the problems with pollution and educating its victors. This is only three examples of people who use their art and platform to raise awareness to this issue. There are many other people and artists dedicated to bringing light to the pollution that has taken over our beautiful oceans and beaches, in hopes of changing the ways we dispose of waste and debris.