COP29 (the Conference of the Parties, or the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference), which concludes on November 22, has had its controversies and critics. From the choice of the host country, Azerbaijan, to the progress (or lack thereof) in making decisions significant enough to truly combat climate change, some wonder about the efficacy of this climate conference.
Amongst the workshops and lectures, different entry points into these subjects are needed, including those that engage the emotions and senses as well as the mind. Art can be a fresh way of catching people's attention and imagination in a different way from how scientific paper or presentations engage participants. Art exhibitions are always part of COP, and this year's conference was no exception.
Included in the official and unofficial art exhibits at COP29 was a piece that combined realistic art with a type of playacting that shed light on reality by approaching it through what wasn't real but appeared to be.
Although the Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water, the only aquatic mammal that lives there is the Caspian seal. So, coming across a 52-foot sperm whale beached on a waterfront promenade near the Information Centers for COP29 was unexpected to say the least.
Made from molded fiberglass, this life-size replica of a beached sperm whale on Baku Boulevard drew crowds and interest from both out-of-town visitors and local residents, many of whom didn't realize it was fake.
It looked (and smelled) like a rotting whale, but was actually created by an Antwerp, Belgium group named the Captain Boomer Collective. For about ten years, this collective has been moving its beached whale exhibit across Europe and Australia, drawing people in with its sudden and realistic appearance.
As is typical, the group placed the "whale" on the promenade at night so that people wouldn't see the activity leading up to the "beaching." Artificial blood and realistic whale wounds were visible on the whale's carcass and, in an added touch of realism, buckets of rotting fish were hidden nearby to create the wafting odor of a rotting whale.
The whale was fenced off to keep intrusive crowds away and, as is typical in this exhibit, members of the fictitious North Sea Whale Association (actors pretending to be scientists) performed autopsies, took samples, and explored potential causes of the whale's beaching, while spectators looked on and responded. (One possible reason for the beaching that was presented was shifting migration patterns due to warmer oceans.)
The presentation was a combination of truth and fiction, with people emotionally drawn in through their belief that they were seeing an actual beached whale (even though the whale was located in a place that doesn't have sperm whales).
The purpose is of all this was twofold. It was intended to both create a place for learning and to provide a memorable and large-scale metaphor for what is happening in the natural world.
The beached whale exhibit provided both kids and adults with an opportunity to learn about whale parasites, habits, teeth, spermaceti oil, and the hazards these huge mammals face, as the "scientists" talked through what they were doing with the "whale."
As a metaphor, the beached whale provided a visible image of the disruption our ecological system is experiencing, aiming to provoke discussion about pollution and the environment.
For Frederik Van Peel of the Captain Boomer Collective, seeing crowds gather around the installation and react deeply underscored the whale’s purpose. “The whale installation, with its visceral presence, is meant to stir public emotion and action." For Van Peel, the power is in bringing people together around the sperm whale’s unexpected and unusual presence. “It’s this gesture of a beast coming from another element and throwing itself at our feet and saying: ‘Look, I can’t anymore.’ There’s an exhaustion. It’s a big question mark. What are you going to do?”
In so many areas of creation care, that is a question we need to address, whether it be energy usage, stronger connection with other creatures, or decreasing our consumptive ways. The whale brings home the reality that there are creatures out there who really can't solve the problems around them. And we are left with a very important question to address: What are you going to do?
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Louise