The GYRE Expedition and Exhibit - Marine Debris as Material and Message

Today the Alaska Sea Life Center in cooperation with others will send an international team of scientists, artists, and educators out on an expedition to explore the impacts of one of the most prolific cultural artifacts of our modern age, plastic pollution. The expedition will study the global problem of marine pollution using the southwest part of Alaska as their laboratory. This expedition was the vision of Howard Ferren and he will serve as the expedition leader. I had the opportunity to meet Howard at the 5th International Marine Debris Conference in Honolulu in March of 2011, and visited him and his wife at their home in Seward, Alaska later in the year. Howard is a dedicated individual who for many months has worked tirelessly to bring forth his vision (read fund) of blending the interpretive talents of artists and scientists to illuminate the problems resulting from marine pollution to a wider public audience. It is through his efforts that a collaboration of organizations and individuals has been built to realize this expedition.  His vision also included a post-expedition Marine Debris Art Exhibit that will be curated and hosted by the co-sponsor, the Anchorage Museum.

A short video that explains the Expedition concept can be viewed here:

The lead scientist for the Expedition will be Carl Safina, of the Blue Ocean Institute. Carl is a wonderful choice as he is both an accomplished scientist and an eloquent artist as his many books on marine conservation issues will attest to. Pam Longobardi an artist that has been featured in this blog will be one of the 4 artists that participates in the expedition phase of the Gyre project. Pam has been working with marine debris for over 20 years now, and her art has been exhibited internationally. Pam is currently one of the 4 finalists for the $50,000 Visual Arts Hudgens Prize.

Here are just a few examples of her marine debris art;

Ghosts of Consumption by Pam Longobardi, 2012, media: found ocean plastic, steel pins, silicone

Pam has been working alongside Howard to put together a diverse group of international artists that will be collecting marine pollution throughout the expedition. The collected items will be catalogued during the expedition and many of these items will be presented in the Exhibition phase of the project. In addition to the 4 artists taking part in the expedition an additional 16 artists have been invited to contribute to the exhibition which will be exhibited at the Anchorage Museum on February through September 2014. After this initial showing the GYRE exhibit will be repackaged for traveling by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services and will tour museums across the United States.

The photographer for the expedition is Kip Evans. Kip has been working in the marine conservation field for over 20 years. Since 2008 he has worked with Dr. Sylvia Earle serving as director of photography and expeditions for her Mission Blue Hope Spots part of the Sylvia Earle Alliance.

R/V Norseman

The GYRE expedition will be conducted aboard the R/V Norseman. The R/V Norseman is a 108-ft. well appointed ship that has been recently (2005) converted to a full research and exploration platform. The GYRE team should be able to fully explore the southwest Alaska coastline where they will observe, document, and collect shoreline marine pollution.

I hope that you will follow this expedition as it explores the Kenai Peninsula and beyond, here the expedition members will bear witness to the enormity of the global problem of plastic waste that plagues our oceans.

TO LEARN MORE:
GYRE Website
The Anchorage Museum
The Alaska SeaLife Center
Marine Debris Overview – Blue Ocean Institute
GYRE – Marine Debris Fact Sheet
GYRE FACEBOOK PAGE
GYRE – TWITTER
GYRE – YOU TUBE
GYRE – GOOGLE+
GYRE – PINTEREST

Pam Longobardi - The Drifters Project

Macro of Wall Display © 2009 Wayne Sentman

I was fortunate to have been introduced to Pam Longobardi through friends who were working on conservation projects in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands now the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Pam and I started working on a  grant proposal for NOAA geared towards increasing grassroots beach clean-ups efforts in the main Hawaiian islands and on Midway Atoll with production of interpretive art projects. It was hoped that these art projects would both attract more segments of the communities to participate in beach clean up efforts and at the same time serve as focal points to educate the public about the impacts of marine pollution. While were we not successful in this first effort it formed the groundwork for our continued collaboration and association with a larger group of professional artists that were also exploring the theme of marine pollution through art. Pam has been doing this for quite sometime now. In the 2000's Pam started a project that she calls "The Drifters Project." Pam describes that project as "My current project Drifters focuses on the global issue of marine debris and plastics in the ocean. I have been working on installations and public artworks that address the interconnectedness of the land and sea, between humans and the ocean biosphere. My work has a strong environmental focus that has come to the foreground as awareness of climate change, extinction and human impact has become more urgent. The Drifters works include sculptural wall and floor installations and site photography to contextualize the origin of the object materials. I collected the material in these works as it washed in from the Pacific Basin onto the South Point of Hawaii, the southernmost part of the United States. The currents transport and mix the debris into a colony of drifters that temporarily alight and gather on the beaches awaiting the next hurricane, tidal shift or big swell. I was both amazed and shocked by the visual impact of the astonishing array of marine debris I encountered.

South Point, Hawaii © 2007 Pam Longobardi

The ocean functions symbolically as the unconscious of the world. It is the great ‘formless.’ The regurgitating ocean now spews forth all manner of plastic materiality. I believe this artwork can function to raise awareness and transform behavior, while providing a provocative visual delight."

Pam has been selected to show her "Drifters" art at a variety of International locations including in Beijing at NY ARTS/Beijing during the 2008 Olympics and at ARTLIFEfortheworld in Venice for the 2009 Venice Biennale ARTE VISIVI collateral exhibitions. And more recently  She has a book published by Edizione CHARTA (Milan, NY) called  Drifters: Plastics, Pollution and Personhood.

Click on link to purchase

 Carl Safina (a prominent ecologist and marine conservationist, and president of  Blue Ocean Institute) who writes the Forward for the book says: "Longobardi's work is no mere attempt at creating pretty decoration from found objects. Her work is witness, and in it we share. She gives us a wakeup call, a call to action, a call for change. Her work is art. And the work that art must do is to steer our attention into the path of the oncoming truth. As you’re about to see." 

Pam is currently a professor of Art at Georgia State University. She and I worked together this last 8 months, organizing an officially sponsored marine debris art exhibit for the 5th International Marine Debris Conference taking place on the 20 - 25 March, in Honolulu, Hawaii. This conference is a combined effort of NOAA and the United Nations Environmental Programme. It will bring together members of Federal, International and non-profit organizations, as well as scientists, media, and concerned citizens from around the world to investigate the problems we all face related to marine pollution and its increasing accumulation in the worlds oceans. Pam's art will be featured in the conference exhibit entitled  "The Sixth Gyre: Art, Oceans, and Plastic Pollution" this exhibit will be located at the Waikiki Beach Marriott in the Oahu Room and is open to the public during the week on the conference. In addition Pam will also be joined by Susan Middleton, Andrew McNaughton, and myself at an Ocean Conservancy Art & Wine Reception where we will all briefly talk about the role of art in interpreting environmental issues. The three artists will also have more of their art on display for the 300 to 400 conference attendees at the reception.

"Shipwreck (Unintended Consequences,)"

Found marine debris, wire mesh, silicone

Installed in Panthalassa, Artlife Gallery, Venice, Italy

2009

"Shipwreck (Unintended Consequences,)"

Found marine debris, wire mesh, silicone

Installed in Panthalassa, Artlife Gallery, Venice, Italy

2009