KEY INFLUENCES AND SOURCES

Whales and the Plastic Problem, Chris Johnson for WWF, 2021

Trigger Warning / Necropsy of a Cuvier Whale with plastic inside its stomach

Message in a Bottle, Brita and WDC, 2022

FURTHER READING / ARTICLES

Protect our Planet from plastic pollution:

5 things to know

Plastic Pollution : The long lasting Problem

The alarming trend of beached whales filled with plastic, explained

Our Time on Earth

Third World : The Bottom dimension

Sounds In the Ocean: Mammals

Ellen Gallagher, Accidental Records

How artist George Nuku is tackling plastic pollution one installation at a time

Pattern Radio: Whale Songs

Whale song Echoes help scientists map the ocean floor

Whale Fall

FURTHER READING / BOOKS

Tom Mustill, How To Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication, London, Harper Collins, 2022

Philip Hoare, The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea, London, HarperCollins Publishers, 2008

Rebecca Giggs Fathoms: The World in the Whale, London, Scribe Publications, 2020

Margret Grebowicz, Whale Song, New York, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017

Glenn A. Albrecht, Earth Emotions: New Words for a New World, Ithaca and London, Cornell University Press, 2019

Charles Foster, On the Language of the Deep Blue: How the Scottish Killer Whales Describe What’s Important, Inverness, CA, Emergence Magazine Vol. 2, 2021

Kathleen Jamie, Sightlines, London, Sort of Books, 2012

Nick Pyenson,  Spying on Whales, Penguin Books, 2018

Doreen Cunningham, Soundings, University of Washington Press, 2019

Whales and the Plastic Problem - 360 Documentary

Developing Whale Fall

According to the UN, life below water is the most overlooked sustainable development goal. Whales, one of the largest carbon accumulators, are crucial for the fertilization of global marine ecosystems and for keeping climate change at bay. However, human actions threaten their existence as plastic permeates into the marine environment that whales feed in, ingestion of which can lead to fatalities. Fishing gear and ghost nets pose major hazards. Our project emphasises this by referencing a real-life story in which a pregnant sperm whale was found dead with more than 22 kg of plastic in her stomach in 2019 in Sardinia, Italy. She died due to a Gastric shock.

We decided to address the story in VR since we aim to rely on the transformative power of immersive virtual reality to instil a sense of awe for whales and the marine ecosystem, a concern for their survival and hope that it is still not too late to act. We used Unreal Engine, Cinema 4D, Houdini to create the VR experience and 3D environments and Adobe Premiere to edit the documentary for viewing on the Oculus Quest headset.

‘Whale Fall’ is composed of two parts. The first one is an immersive and interactive Virtual Reality experience that addresses and informs the audience on the issue of marine plastic pollution and its effect on whales. A ‘Whale Fall’ occurs when a whale dies, sinks to the bottom of the ocean and sustains a rich marine ecosystem for decades. Using this phenomenon as an anchor, we have created a deep-sea environment in which viewers can virtually immerse themselves and interact with the fallen whale.  Narrative: The experience starts with the players on the ocean floor who look up to see a deceased sperm whale, her body entangled in a ghost net, slowly falling toward them from the ocean surface. After she falls on the ground, the interactive experience begins and the players can walk around the whale’s body. As they get closer and see her body entangled in nets and human generated trash, they are nudged to pick it up. Their actions trigger the decomposition of the whale’s body and blooming of the marine ecosystem. Witnessing first-hand how their proactive efforts to clean up the oceans contribute to the thriving of the marine ecosystem, the experience ends with a sense of hope.

The second part of ‘Whale Fall’ is a 360 documentary. Collaborating with Whale and Dolphin Conservation’s experts, we created a gripping documentary video, displaying the effects of plastics in the cycle of the cetacean’s life. More serious and factual than our VR experience, ‘Whales and the Plastic Problem’ compliments the eery feeling of the VR experience and provides the audience with crucial informations on the context. 

Narrative: The documentary begins with a submerged scene, prompting viewers to hold their breath until all trash disappears. It then transitions to various environments, starting with a beach scene illustrating the impact of shopping habits on the environment and whales. Subsequent underwater footage reveals polluted oceans and the pervasive issue of microplastics, highlighting their harmful effects on whale ingestion. The documentary further explores whale incidents, particularly focusing on those in Sardinia, Italy, and immerses the audience in these environments. In conclusion, experts call for action, emphasising that there is still hope if we act swiftly.