Reflection

Reflection

There are just 250 dugongs in the Indian sea, according to a study by zoological survey of India. Conservation in other places like Australia has seen their population crossing 85,000. The species has been categorised in the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Natural Flora and Fauna. Feeding on sea grass, dugongs are found in sea grass beds and bays. Human intervention, pollution, mixing of excessive nutrients from agricultural fields that gets drained into the coastal waters and mixing of sewage are some of the direct threats to dugong habitats. In particular, sea pollution can destroy the seagrass meadows that feed the dugongs, leading to a serious shortage of food. These realities have moved my mind for me to react to this issue because they are one among my favourite sea animals. I want to raise awareness among my society through my pictorial representation of this reality. It is not just about creating awareness but also about reacting immediately too. I have hidden deep thoughts in my art by mixing the flavours of ancient traditional art style of dugongs with modern drawing of the present reality. The former represents the happiness of colourful marine ecosystems, and the latter represents a dugong and calf gathering the scarce seagrass grown in an industrialized area.