Below the Iceberg
Bryant, AR
2016, Senior, Art (2014 – 2023)
Reflection
Reflection
When forming an idea for this piece I scavenged the internet for articles, statistics, and other artwork made to raise awareness of water pollution and the effects it has on our environment. What I found was astonishing; despite efforts being made to educate the general public of the dangers of ocean pollution it seems to be a slow, painful ride on the road to recovery. My piece superficially focuses on the Arctic Ocean by exhibiting a single polar bear peering over the edge of an icy glacier. On a deeper scale, the piece shows an eye level view -from a sea animals’ perspective- of what lies beneath what humans see. Below the surface is a mass of garbage forming the shape of an iceberg. Plastics, metals, glass and much much more all floating within our sea creatures ecosystems. Our ocean pollution not only affects the animals, but it affects us. If awareness isn't raised and behavior isn't changed the problems we see now will merely be the tip of the iceberg.