'Sea Debris: Awareness through Art' seeks to educate public about pervasive threat of ocean litter
A giant shark crafted out of a toothbrush, old shoes and clothes hangers? That may warrant a second look, and that's exactly what Mote Marine Laboratory staff are hoping visitors will do when their new exhibit opens Saturday.
"Sea Debris: Awareness through Art" is an exhibit of sculptures of marine creatures and organisms made entirely from debris found in the ocean. While the sculptures are eye-catching in size and form, their goal is not to delight so much as to educate, said artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the executive director of Washed Ashore, a nonprofit that fashions art out of plastic and trash found along the Oregon coast.
"The whole idea is to really save the ocean," Haseltine Pozzi said. "We want to create art that grabs people's attention and teach people who may not have ever thought about it. We want them to be intrigued with the beauty and horrified with the reality."
And the reality reflected in Mote's research is that ocean debris and pollution is a growing threat to marine life, said Gretchen Lovewell, Mote's stranding investigations program manager. In 2015, a large group of sea turtle hatchlings washed ashore after strong winds blew them off course. While some were nursed back to health at Mote's Hatchling Hospital, many did not make it. Out of the hatchlings that were deceased, about 72 percent had plastic in their stomachs, despite only being in the sea for one or two months, Lovewell said.
As the head of strandings, Lovewell has seen her fair share of strange objects along the beach. Once, a local dolphin named Scrappy was found with a Speedo wrapped around the animal's body, strung so tight it was cutting into its skin. The animal still has scars, Lovewell said.
"I'm hoping this exhibit definitely changes the way people think about our backyard," she said. "It's their environment and their home — we're their guests."
Although much of the exhibit is located in an ever-changing gallery toward the front of the aquarium, a few sculptures are dotted throughout Mote's campus, making it an "experience" throughout Mote, said Shelby Isaacson, the research facility's spokesperson.
The exhibit will be on display through June 15 but Evan Barniskis, assistant vice president for the aquarium, encourages visitors to come back more than once for a new look each time. Throughout the season, Mote intends to rotate a display of artwork from local high schools and colleges focused on the ocean and marine debris.
Barniskis said he has a personal favorite in the exhibit: bleached coral made out of styrofoam. Mote's Summerland Key campus, home to their newly completed Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration, has pioneered a coral restoration technique called microfragmentation, a type of coral planting that allows coral to grow at a faster speed.
Yet some scientists worry that any planting is not fast enough: In 12 of the last 14 years, key stretches of coral in the Florida Keys have experienced bleaching from changing ocean conditions, including temperature.
Barniskis hopes the art will excite people and that, in turn, may bring change.
"We entertained them," Barniskis said. "And we want them to make a difference in their daily lives."