A Whale of A Problem

A Whale of a Problem- Overfishing is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, and has a range of negative consequences, both to the species being fished and those secondarily affected. These include extinction of species, ecosystem damage, and a loss of marine biodiversity. Overfishing affects not just the species being fished for, but other animals as well. The large-scale nets used in commercial fishing can be especially deadly for whales, specifically the North Atlantic Right Whale, the state mammal of Georgia. These whales often become tangled in the nets, with data from NOAA indicating that roughly 85% of Right Whales have been entangled in a net at some point in their lives. These nets can lacerate the whales, leading to injury, infection, and death. Our design raises awareness about the effects of large-scale fishing operations, and their harmful impact on Right Whales in particular. Our large-scale installation on River street takes the form of a silhouette of a whale ensnared in a net, represented here by an interlocking web of chains. Our installation is interactive and invites the viewer to enter through it. There they themselves will become entangled in a net as they attempt to navigate from one end of the whale to the other, demonstrating not only what Right Whales experience while ensnared, but also the labor-intensive process of climate reform and policy change more generally.
A project created for my 3D Design II class at SCAD.