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Marine Ecosystem and Pollution: An Artist’s Photography Exhibit
St. Luke’s junior Abigail O’Meara merged her passions for marine ecosystems and photography to create a photo exhibition that is currently on display in St. Luke's Art Gallery next to the library. In the artist statement below, Abigail shares what inspired her to take and display this series of photos.
Last summer, working with the New Haven-based Save the Sound organization, I conducted research by collecting microplastics off the coast of Long Island Sound and analyzing the collection to find where the plastics came from. This summer, I will continue my research on the effects that humans have on our marine ecosystems by focusing on Long Island Sound.
I wanted to create a series of photographs that captured the impact that pollution, especially plastic, has on our coastal marine ecosystems. A piece of trash is easily something that you think someone else will pick up or take care of after you dispose of it. It’s the out of sight, out of mind principle. However, most of the plastics that we don’t recycle end up in our local streets and parks, clogging rivers and contaminating habitats. Pollution is an often talked-about topic of discussion. However, only a small number of people are contributing to the efforts to help reduce our plastic waste.
In many images, I have captured a simple object that thousands of people dispose of every day: the six-pack rings. Throughout my display, there are a variety of black-and-white photographs. The purpose of making these photographs black and white is to show how plastic materials blend with the natural debris on the beaches. The beaches along the coast are littered with different types of plastic, from straws to fish netting, to beads or plastic water cups. All of these, as well as many more, have an impact on our ecosystems and our organisms.
My images are printed at a large size because this is a large problem. We need to stop using plastic straws and start using metal straws. We need to recycle plastic instead of throwing it away. We need to bring reusable bags instead of using plastic ones. We need to stop buying bottled water. And we need to stop using plastic Starbucks cups. Instead, we need to bring reusable bottles and cups.
Photography teacher Jeorge Yankura advised Abbey during the printing and installation of this project.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
