Internationally renowned for his work in contemporary thought, literature, visual, and public art, Douglas Coupland now adds environmental art to his remarkable portfolio. Vortex – the first-ever full-scale artistic imagining of the Pacific Trash Vortex or Great Pacific Garbage Patch – opens May 18, 2018 at the Vancouver Aquarium®, an Ocean Wise® initiative.
Vortex is an exploration of the escalating global ocean plastic pollution crisis and the evolving human relationship with this ubiquitous material in an emotive, provocative, and inspirational way.
Catch a sneak peek of this radical art installation by watching the Facebook Live below:
The focal point of Vortex is a 50,000L water installation. A battered day-fishing boat from Japan, lost during the tsunami in 2011 and found on the shores of Haida Gwaii in 2017, sits at the centre of the ocean. The crew, a collection of four realistic and fantastical characters, are adrift in a dense gyre of waves, mist, and marine debris collected from British Columbia shorelines. The historical roots of the installation lie partially in works that speak of characters being adrift on a raft: Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa as well as Bill Reid’s Spirit of Haida Gwaii.
Inspired by the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup’s “dirty dozen”, the exhibition also features a gallery wall showcasing a curious collection of the most common marine debris found washed up on shorelines.
Vortex opens at the Vancouver Aquarium on May 18; tickets are available at: www.vanaqua.org/vortex. The installation will be complemented by interactive experiences throughout the Aquarium’s galleries that highlight the ways plastic has penetrated and impacted our oceans as well as forward-looking solutions that will help us create a more sustainable ocean.
