The Whale in the Room
A few years back…
a family trip through the San Juan Islands brought me face-to-face with the magic of wild Orca pods. Witnessing both Transients hunting and Residents navigating their world—even swimming while half-asleep—was profoundly moving. I was compelled to study their form and begin an Orca Whale. But in researching, I encountered a captivating bird’s-eye view photo that changed my artistic direction. The aerial perspective highlighted the stark reality of their struggle—starvation caused by pollution, dams, and overfishing. My art shifted from creating a single sculpture to producing a series with textural, fading variations. Each sculpted form became a mantra, using textural and design variations to symbolize the "disappearance and dissolution" of the species.
This work reflects on the 'whale in the room'—the massive, unaddressed impact of climate change and industrial pressure on these magnificent, vanishing creatures
