A Whale In a Goldfish Bowl

This is a piece that I produced based on the topical issue of killer whale captivity, particularly in relation to SeaWorld, the focus of the documentary Blackfish. I have long had an interest in marine wildlife, and wanted to create a visual response that communicated just how absurd it is to keep such large, sentient beings in small concrete pools. I chose the use of a goldfish bowl to represent the idea that these mammals are being kept purely for human observation and profit; they are put on display to make money, as well as to symbolise the size of an orca in relation to the enclosures in which they are kept. I then put bars on the goldfish bowls to represent the idea of a prison. I decided to make the surface of the water look almost like the night sky, or a galaxy of stars. This was to represent the idea that many First Nations people hold; that orcas are ancient, mystical beings, not to be meddled with. I kept the orca itself very simple, but specifically created 57 dots around it, in the style of the spray of water it would create by jumping; at the time of creation there were 57 orcas kept in captivity around the world. I also intentionally kept the background very simple and plain; I wanted the white to feel clinical and harsh, much like the artificial environment created at SeaWorld and other marine parks.