Reflection

Popular media footage about the ocean and climate change tends to gravitate toward marine animals that are considered aesthetically pleasing, attractive, or cute. Think images of a polar bear on melting ice caps or penguins covered in black liquid from an oil spill. Animals such as sea turtles, whales, seals, polar bears, and seabirds, commonly receive the most sympathy and recognition, while marine animals that don’t fit our standard of “cute” are often absent from popular media related to climate change, regardless of how endangered or important they might be to ocean life. Species such as clams, plankton, kelp, and most intertidal organisms are frequently overlooked, and rouse little curiosity from the audiences even when they play a critical role in the ocean ecosystem. In this project, I wanted to explore unconventional art and ironic comedy to make a point about the importance of certain marine species because of their paramount importance in many symbiotic processes in the ocean—even if they are not attractive.