Reflection

Reflection

“Self-Destruction” is a progressive representation of human impact on our coral reefs. Coral bleaching is presented on a human face to show the connection and impact of our footprint on oceans and coral populations. The first mask shows what corals looked like before climate change started impacting their environment. The second and third masks show the gradual decline in coral life until the last mask, which is completely deprived of living coral. The final mask is what our coral reefs will look like if we continue to ignore climate change and refuse to change our ways. Today coral bleaching, the term used to define when the algae leave the coral and eventually leads to death, is destroying coral environments all over the globe. Its relevance is only becoming more apparent with the rising of Earth’s temperatures. I am currently pursuing a degree in marine biology, making this an even more important issue to me. Solving this problem is going to take the efforts of many, all around the world. It's easy to feel helpless and small when trying to make a difference, but making this piece has given me a voice. “Self-Destruction” has allowed me to bring awareness to climate change and what humans are doing to our corals and to ourselves.