Transdisciplinary Seas

Our reliance on fossil fuels, particularly over the last few decades, is having extreme impacts on ocean health. Ocean warming is driving mass coral bleaching and marine scientists around the world are trying to save this vital ecosystem. It’s not just the fight to save these marine habitats and millions of species, but also its important for our own health, way of life, and security.

Nevertheless, despite the growing scientific evidence, convincing the public to act has proven to be a disheartening and frustrating challenge. To penetrate through this hardwiring, artistic expressions can make a difference by bringing the evidence in a format that the public can relate to and understand. After all, art does not show people what to do, but by engaging with it in a personal level, it offers a way to make the environmental issues felt. And this felt may spur to thinking, and even to action, overcoming the numbing effect created by the overwhelming load of information we are faced with today.

In this case, this art piece can influence viewers to appreciate the fragile beauty of our

endangered coral reef ecosystems and it can help raise awareness about the large-scale mortality events that we are causing worldwide. Eventualyl, through this personal engagement, it could promote support and participation in conservation efforts. Given her degrees in Environmental Science and Fine Arts, this young artist finds creative ways to join Art and Science to help visualize environmental issues and help bring about change.

It is clear that change is inevitable, but the magnitude of the change is not and everyone has a responsibility.

The Art of Caring.

Ms Nerea Ferrando Jorge (Honours student, BSc Environmental Science and Sustainability, University of Glasgow). NLS LT 106.

SUSTAINING THE SEAS CONFERENCE. SUSTAINING THE SEAS: FISH, OCEANIC SPACE AND THE POLITICS OF CARING.

11-13 December, 2017

A multidisciplinary conference that will bring together academics, practitioners, urban planners, fishers, artists and writers to consider the challenges of how to better care for the oceans, and more-than-human marine ecological systems.

The conference will explore radically different modes of caring for oceanic spaces and ask what their effects might be for communities of fish and humans.

http://www.sustainablefishlab.org/sustaining-theseas-conference/

Conference Sponsors

The Sustainable Fish Lab is funded by an Australian Research Council

Discovery Project grant (Probyn) and it is housed in the Department of Gender

and Cultural Studies, School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI),

The University of Sydney.

With support from the Sydney Environment Institution (SEI) and School of

Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI).

Conference Conveners

Professor Elspeth Probyn

Dr Kate Johnston

Finalist at the Global Youth Video Competition 2017