Sustained Investigation 2

Reflection

Do you feel all the fish swimming to the surface? is a piece made in relation to the question: How can I tell the truth about climate change in a time of denial? For this work, I focus more on the effect that humans have had, and continue to have, on the oceans and the animals that live in them. Though it went through many phases, throughout them all the whale played an important role. After seeing a few documentaries on whales, and specifically humpback whales, I really took interest in their mystery and beauty. The ancientness of whales seems clear in their size, and the way their migratory patterns and song patterns work in communication with one another. Also in the piece is a hawksbill turtle. Because both animals are abstracted in some form, they are not 100% true to the species but they are still emulating the beauty and grace of these creatures. It seems that I focused more on the beauty of creatures in both of my pieces thus far. The pattern on the back of hawksbill turtle inspired me to choose them as a species. Additionally, both of these animals have a history of endangerment. Humpback whales have made a major comeback since 1950 when their numbers were just 440 left. Now they have made a big recovery, with the current population being around 120,00-150,000. In contrast, however, the hawksbill sea turtle is listed as critically endangered, and in danger, because of hunting for their beautiful shell, among the other threats it faces (getting caught in fishing net/plastic, etc.) As can be seen, the 2 red lines are up to interpretation, but in my view, they are showing how much understanding of the oceans that these creatures carry with them, and what it would mean for this to be lost.

The work was made using two sheets of black charcoal paper, and a white pen. The red was made using a pink and dark red oil pastel by Sennelier. I also used a black sharpie and felt-tipped pen under the pastel.

Starting this project, I had a different idea for how this was going to work, however, my plan changed. Originally, I was going to have a turtle, a whale's tail, and a diving bird all with chalk pastel on one page. They would hit together in an interesting way where the viewer would be able to feel all three animals in one. I made two attempts (one with watercolor and one with chalk pastel ) but found I didn't have the skill to carry this out, so instead, I started on a very loose and yet detailed drawing of a whale's tail. Thus completed, I drew a moon/earth with a metallic sharpie above it but decided on cutting the whale's tail out. Eventually, after watching a few documentaries on whales and researching the shape of the turtle, I landed with my final product. The longest piece was all of the little details on the shell. I wanted the lines to have more movement, which is something I would add more of if I were to revise this piece.