Reflection

I've noticed that when the average person thinks of ocean pollution, they typically think of plastic bags, bottles, and six-pack rings floating in the waves. While this is certainly a problem, I find it sad that people do not realize just how many other ways we pollute our ocean, and sometimes even without trash, chemicals, or physical matter, in the case of noise pollution.

At first, I had no idea that noise pollution was a pressing issue. But after looking into some material I learned that noise pollution, both natural and manmade, greatly interferes with the lives of whales. Whales need a relatively quiet environment to communicate with one another when traveling together. But large sources of noise, such as army cruisers and submarines, are stationed near some areas with whales, and the noise generated from ship propellers, ship traffic, and sonar communication completely disrupts the signals whales send to one another. The sounds can also scare the whales to the extent that they turn towards land and swim onshore, effectively stranding themselves and dying.

I grew angry this was even an issue because the solution seemed so simple; move the ships somewhere else when whales need to migrate! I wanted to capture the upset grief I felt when I learned of this reality, so I depicted a dying whale, up-close and personal to the viewer, to make them uncomfortable and provoke them to think. The faint white rings are meant to convey the disruptive noise emanating from the ships.