Coral Catch X Will Solomon Studios
Did you know that about 25 percent of the ocean’s marine life depends on healthy reefs for shelter and food, yet 40 percent of the world’s coral reefs have vanished in the past few decades? And that scientists predict that that number could rise to 90% by 2030 if we don’t act now?
Although these numbers are shocking, it’s a misconception that these facts alone are enough for people to act. Luckily, there many other ways exist to engage people in our current climate crisis. This includes the use of climate change art, which recent research has shown is capable of changing people’s opinions, as long as the message is hopeful and gives people ideas for change.
How Art Can Help Us Save The Reefs
Using art to raise awareness is exactly what UK Artist Will Solomon is doing with his latest project, ‘Back to Life’ – a collection of artworks made from coral gravel fragments sourced from aquarium suppliers’ discarded stock. Will’s goal is to inform as many people as he can about the importance of coral reefs and what we can do to protect them.
Bringing Back To Life Project
To complete the ‘Back to Life’ cycle, Will asked our Coral Catch Superwomen to build a new coral reef by recreating his artwork ‘Purple Plasma’ underwater.
Our Coral Catch Superwomen will use 13 mm steel to make the different structures which will take around 1 month. Once the steel frame of the art work is complete, our Coral Catch Superwomen will deploy it at a depth of 8 meters in the marine park around the Gili Islands, and attach a minimum of 400 coral fragments to the structures.
Our Mission
The ‘Back to Life’ project will benefit marine life in two ways: first by creating a reef system for life to thrive in, and second by taking pressure off of natural reefs, which have been over-fished and over-visited. Our underwater art museum will draw tourists away from the fragile corals of existing reefs, where people may do more harm than good with their well-intentioned curiosity.
Our Coral Catch Superwoman will maintain and monitor the artwork on a regular basis and will also teach the dive guides and instructors around the Gili Islands how they can use our underwater museum to educate others about the importance of coral reefs.
Get Involved!
Would you like to support our mission to create an underwater museum around the Gili Islands in Indonesia? With your donation we can expand the artwork of Will Solomon with more structures, and works toward making our vision a reality – restoring degraded coral reefs to thriving ecosystems.
