The Folly of Beast is Always Outdone by the Greed of Man

This piece was inspired by pollution and overconsumption. I wanted to present the image of a whale devastated by pollution in an unconventional way. This piece is adorned with over 5000 pear beads. I used plastic imitation pearls to highlight the idea of a precious material bastardized by consumerism. I wanted to make something beautiful that would invite people to take a closer look. Upon closer inspection, viewers can interpret the more serious messaging about pollution.

The name for this piece, like the whales white coloring, was influenced by the book Moby Dick. The three candles present in this piece are used to represent the past, present, and future. In the past, we prioritized using whale oil to light our cities, causing their population to come close to extinction. Presently, we are still harming our oceans through our excessive plastic pollution. These candles are a physical representation of the limited time we have to prevent total destruction of one of Earths most important ecosystems.