Reflection

Reflection

This painting is a call for help for these animals. The fact that all of these marine creatures are trapped in a plastic bag is symbolic of their fate; some will die from plastic pollution, others might die from oil spills, ingestion of plastic, chemical runoff from farms, and wastewater or sewage released into the ocean. The point of this painting is not only to show that their fate is sealed, but also to show that they are all in the same lot, hence the reason why they are in plastic bag together. Water pollution affects all of these animals whether we are conscious of it or not. Furthermore, the fact that this plastic bag is hanging is a symbol of whether we should leave this matter as it is, or take charge and release these creatures. This painting is important to me because it shows that anyone can make a move. Anyone can raise awareness for this cause, it just takes time and motivation to do so. In 2025, it is estimated that a total of 140 million tons of plastic will be thrown into the ocean. Shoppers worldwide are using approximately 500 billion single-use plastic bags per year. One can only imagine the impact that this has on the environment. Actually, we can imagine this impact: 100 000 marine animals die from plastic entanglement per year. These facts are what drove me to make a move and create this painting.