withNature2020 was conceived in the Autumn of 2018, as a response to the extinction crisis. It is a collaborative work being realized by a network of voluntary participants – both individuals and established organisations. It aims to engage people with the vital need to protect the diversity in their local ecosystem, wherever they are, and to create a visually memorable mass event in an effort to convince world leaders that people care about nature.
On Saturday 22nd May 2021, we celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity and giant images of endangered species were created at
multiple locations across six continents, filmed
aerially and streamed live on YouTube.
In Norway, Bærekraftige liv – Sustainable Living organised the creative community action to highlight the Polar Cod – a key species in the Arctic Ocean and Norwegian waters.
The Polar Cod is already reduced in numbers due to warmer waters and declining sea ice cover. And might be threatened with extinction if Norway allows drilling for oil in the Arctic.
I was assigned the role of the project coordinator for this project by Bærekraftige liv, and was in charge of the conceptualizing, designing and executing the Polar Cod into a large scale public installlation
The first digital illustration, based on the scientific documentation, replicating most details,
was made with Procreate on iPad.
The initial idea was to have the installation made with donated clothing materials, made into a fabric mosaic.
As the research with Polar Cod and its habitat progressed, the role of Oceans species in shaping
the cultural, political and economical growth of
Humans was highlighted.
The reflections on this research, led me to think about using Marine waste as a material to construct an installation.
Bærekraftig Liv connected me to one of the largest ocean cleaning operation of Norway, In the Same Boat.
In the Same Boat aims to clear 20,000 beaches along Norway's coast by 2025 and bring in up to 10,000 tonnes of plastic garbage. The operation combines professional methods and voluntary efforts and their bases move around the coast to be constantly within easy reach of where
the garbage is located.
Accordingly, I went with my friend Lukasz, and we
sorted about 600-700 kgs of retrieved Marine waste within 2 days. We were looking at few of the most common colors in the waste : black, white, blue and some pinks and we were sorting the 'bad garbage' (weathered ropes emitting micro plastic/stinky items/containers with liquid/metals etc.) from the reusable garbage (hundreds of whole containers, sturdy plastic pieces, pipes, ropes and nets in one piece, random objects like chairs and shoes etc etc.)
According to the Living Planet Report 2020 by the World Wildlife Fund, nowhere in the ocean is entirely unaffected by humans : only 13% of its area is considered to be wilderness; waste and marine litter are found even in deep ocean trenches, and human pressures are increasing over time. The negative effects of these impacts threaten the goods and services – such as food provision, climate regulation, carbon storage and coastal protection – that marine ecosystems provide to human society, and upon which we all depend.
They became the most important contributor to
Bergen withNature, by agreeing to let us 'borrow' the waste they had collected over a few weeks, before they went into containers and taken to industrial sorting. I got an invitation from them to come and stay with them on the boat and get what I needed for the installation.
Estimated material to cover 100ft on ground was tied or packed in bags, ready to be transported.
A day before the event, In the Same Boat, kindly delivered all of these to the Bergen Harbour, where a group of volunteers received them and helped carrying it to the Bergenhus Fortress grounds, where the installation was to take place.
Based on the colors of the material, I reworked on the image of the Cod, and made more simpler forms within to make the construction more efficient.
A radio documentary, A Tapestry of Species, followed the work live, for broadcast on BBC World Service Radio and is scheduled to air on 6th July 2021.
withNature2020 is a global appeal, by real people, to world leaders, signatories to the UN Convention on Biodiversity, who will meet at COP15 later this year - to enact stronger policy on biodiversity protection.
