In June 2009 I was invited to paint on the walls in a charming little hotel at the authentic archipelago "les Saintes", dependency islands of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean Sea.
Thus I started to take an active interest in once another endangered species: sea turtles. Their mother was born on one of those walls, and since then some babies have been hatched...

The following series was painted after the dramatic oil spill accident that took place on April 20, 2010. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Macondo oil well drilling platform killed several workers, and started the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, releasing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Amongst other species a huge number of sea turtles were killed as a result of the oil spill. All impacted sea turtle species are still threatened or endangered.
Plastic pollution doesn't make it better...

"Vulnerable" below is a little reminder:
300 million metric tons of plastic are produced each year and almost 10% end up in the ocean...
It's a drop in the ocean, but I've used a tiny, tiny part of it...

Vulnerable, window frame, plastic, sand, fishing net and acrylics on canvas, 84 x 64 cm, 2019

Meeting - melting point, acrylics on canvas, 180 x 200 cm, 2007

Plunge, acrylics on canvas, 150 x 150 cm, from 2006

This diptych entitled Land of Welcome / Terre d'Accueil is a kind of synthesis of current topics such as recycling, plastic pollution, deforestation, boat and climate refugees. A paradise on earth is under construction. No criteria for being welcomed. They are all in the same boat. And since the captain has left the ship, an orangutan has taken over. With an outstretched arm, from the top of a solitary tree in what was once a tropical forest, the refugees are given a pleasant welcome. Some colorful birds may indicate that the forest is under reconstruction.
Land of Welcome depicts our chaotic world. Yet, hope triumphs over despair: the migrants have managed to cross the borderline; the whale is being hauled on a plastic tarpaulin instead of swallowing it.

Marine Life | Turtles | Whales

recycle art

Deep Water Spill | installation | Galleir Gol, Norway, 2010

Oddbjørg REINTON © 2023