Street poster exhibition highlights Ocean Acidification

30 JUNE - 21 JULY, STREETS OF DUNEDIN NORTH and CHRISTCHURCH CENTRAL

Street poster exhibition highlights Ocean acidification

“If you said that plankton, the phytoplankton, the green oxygen-producing plankton in the oceans is more important to our atmosphere than the whole of the rainforest, which I think is true, people would be astonished." – Sir David Attenborough

A poster campaign that aims to raise awareness about the health of our oceans is coming to Dunedin’s city centre streets.

Check out our facebook page and tag a photo of yourself and the posters in your neighbourhood with #Ocean_Acidification, so we can raise the profile of this invisible consequence of global warming.

The Art+Oceans Ocean Acidification Street Campaign, “Own The Streets” (30 June-21 July), is the sixth in a series of mini exhibitions to result from the original Art+Oceans Exhibition 2018, (a collaboration between Otago Polytechnic’s Dunedin School of Art and Otago University’s Division of Sciences).

Pam McKinlay, artist and event co-ordinator, says the event is being held as part of Puaka Matariki.  “It is a time to plan ahead for future harvests. It is also a time to reflect on what we do on land and the impacts we are having on the oceans – a time of care-taking as we face ocean warming, rising sea levels and ocean acidification in the realm of Takaroa-whaiariki.”

The street exhibition, in conjunction with Phantom Billstickers, comprises central city “street gallery” sites featuring up to five framed posters. It is also being held concurrently in Christchurch. “The quality of the posters is due to the efforts and expertise of Meg Brasell-Jones, a Senior Lecturer in Communication Design at Otago Polytechnic."

Each poster carries an ocean health label. McKinlay notes that the ocean absorbs between a quarter and a third of Earth’s carbon dioxide. “It produces half of the air we breathe. What we do on land has long-term and immediate impacts on our coastal and ocean environment – from water quality to long-term climate changes. I am hoping that people will care about that - its in our best self-interests.”

Every second breath we take was made in the ocean. #Ocean_Acidification it will take your breath away.

Details:

The Art+Oceans Ocean Acidification Street Campaign, “Own the Streets”, runs from 30 June to 21 July

Event launch: 

The Dunedin/Ōtepoti celebration/Dunedin launch of the “Own the Streets” – Ocean Acidification Street Poster Campaign (an iteration of the Art+Oceans Exhibition 2019) will be held at Heron Hall (upstairs), Knox Church, on Friday 5 July, from 5.30pm

The event features music from local musicians and performances by Ruth Evans, Beth Lynch, Trent Hawthorne and others and will be opened by Dr Christina McGraw, University of Otago, and  Commonwealth Ocean Acidification Action Group.

Dr Christina McGraw, “There are many threats to the ocean, including warming, hypoxia (or low oxygen), overfishing, and ocean acidification (to name just a few). The degree of impact will be different for each region.”

Ocean acidification is a significant additional stressor for calcifying organisms and it will become more and more of an issue as we continue to pump carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.”

Participating artist details:

JESSICA RITCHIE, “What Transpires from a Collection of Encounters” (with Candida Savage, scientist).

THOMAS LORD and BLAIR THOMSON, “Marine microbial ecology” (with Blair Thomson, scientist).

HOPE DUNCAN, “Jellyfish (will thrive)" (with Christina McGraw, scientist).

MADISON KELLY, “Drawing to Discern Parasites” (with Colin MacLeod, scientist).

PAM MCKINLAY and JESSE JAMES PICKERY, “Call of the Ocean” (With Anne-Marie Jackson et al).

RUTH EVANS, “The great carbon trappers: how does ocean acidification affect diatoms?” (with Ro Allen, scientist).  

Find exact street locations here

(image credit: Madison Kelly, composite image from poster, Ocean Acidification Poster series, 2019)