Because the local weather disaster worsens across the globe, its results aren’t any extra obvious than in our oceans and the communities that depend on them. Delicate coral reefs, for instance, face stresses from not solely rising sea temperatures however the residue of human presence—plastics, castoff fishing gear, and different waste.
Heat water is usually the perpetrator in coral bleaching occasions, characterised by algae leaving the organisms and turning them a ghostly white. The algae supplies a meals supply and helps to guard the coral from illness, however when it goes, the host is left far more weak. For Ana Brecevic (beforehand), this phenomenon evokes work that attracts consideration to this pressing subject.
Her latest collection, Plasticum, displays on the ever-growing drawback of plastic air pollution within the earth’s oceans whereas contrasting the great thing about marine ecosystems with their vulnerability to human influence. The artist meticulously cuts silhouettes of bleached corals and gorgonians—also referred to as sea followers—and ornaments them with baubles paying homage to particles.
“I live along the Atlantic coast, where I collect marine waste that inspires and feeds into this body of work,” Brecevic says. “Everything is made from recycled paper, upcycled fabrics, and natural dyes.”
The artist describes Plasticum as “a quiet echo of a reality slowly settling in,” the place microplastics and waste regularly threaten underwater habitats and biodiversity. She says, “Through this work, I hope to spark questions about our connection to living ecosystems and what we choose to see—or overlook.”
Discover extra on Brecevic’s web site and Instagram.
