Reflection

My painting depicts the negative effects of plastic on marine life. I show this through the image of the sea bird’s rib cage filled with plastic waste abandoned by humans on beaches or in the sea. The plastic eventually falls out of the bird’s body and reaches the baby (which I chose to represent as a reflection of the bird). This means that the effects of plastic pollution harm marine life but also will be reflected onto the human race if we don’t stop it. I didn't only want to transmit a negative message, so I chose to show that by flipping the page around, the child (representing us humans) has the power to stop pollution reaching it. I first became aware of the plastic pollution issue in oceans walking along a beach in Canada, where I saw a sea bird who had been killed by a plastic ring. I drew the sun in the style of Native American artwork because of this memory. A man on the beach then told me “You can also help the loons, if you try.”