Yorkshire Life Aquatic believes social empowerment starts with you.
Have you become detached from the realities of keeping animals in captivity for entertainment ? Do you see the part people play in funding these industries by simply buying ticket to shows such as Sea World? Are you aware just how much of the plastic we buy ends up in the oceans and in our ecosystem and bodies as a result?
Human Aquarium is a photographic/ film project looking at performance from the perspective of dolphins and orcas. The research and development phase during stage 1 explores the link between audiences and the entertainment industry. It aims to expose the control and cruelty in the way we have become desensitised to the exploitation of animals for our own entertainment.
Despite the success of documentaries such as ‘Blackfish’ and ‘The Cove’ which exposed the inherent cruelty of cetacean captivity, ‘SeaWorld’ style shows are still popular and profitable, with new marine parks and dolphinaria opening all over the world.
UK tourists may still support the captive industry by attending dolphin shows abroad while on holiday, and many people are still unaware that by simply buying a ticket to a show, they are perpetuating an industry that slaughters and enslaves marine mammals for profit.
This is especially relevant in land-locked cities such as Leeds as people simply do not think about the issues and when offered Dolphin trips by tour operators they don’t realise what they are buying into. We will be using direct action to help change human behavior to educate people about alternative ways to see dolphins/whales in an ethical way.
The exhibition which will take place in February 2019 at St John’s Centre in Leeds City Centre will recreate a Sea World style aquarium Installation for the public to experience, where thought provoking, evocative images will stand alone as art works and embody creative activism as education.
The public are encouraged to pledge their support though sharing their experiences with others and choosing to stand against animal performances permanently. We will be holding talks and outreach workshops during the exhibition which will run for 2 weeks in Leeds city centre.
Yorkshire Life Aquatic’s current project is ‘The Human Aquarium’ and we are proud to be partnered with The World Cetacean Alliance and Plastic-Free Me, working together to help cetaceans and our environment. The exhibition takes place February 15th-28th at St John’s Centre in Leeds City Centre. If you would like to find out how you could support us. Please contact lucy@yorkshirelifeaquatic.co.uk for more details.
Project created by Yorkshire Life Aquatic C.I.C. (2016)
Twitter @HumanAquariumUK