octopus garden

An artivism photo series about the loss of the coral reefs, turning grief into ageny and imagining a transformed future

I started this series based on my sorrow about the almost inevitable loss of the coral reefs. The notion of not being able to protect this amazingly rich underwater jungle with its abundant variety of different species nor to share that wonder of life with future generations breaks my heart. Losing this beauty hurts deeply.

Playing around with some flowers in an underwater setting, I realized how they turned into stunning creature-like beings. I started dreaming a new future where the reefs are still there, but in a supported and transformed way. Imagining that plants return back to water, that they evolve in this new environment and create and contribute to a new form of underwater life.

That’s how I turned my grief into this ongoing art project.
I am still full of awe about this unfamiliar yet impressive beauty.
I see tentacles outstretched, tongues and jaws, semi-transparent fins, gatherings and clusters, cooperation, air supply storage in bubbles and so on. The title octopus garden refers to the Beatles: Childhood memories of this song came up looking at my underwater geranium perennial which reminded me of tentacles.

With every motif I discover a story:
One plant reminds me of that moment within the never-ending story, where Bastian saves Phantasien and creates a whole new world, and everything starts to grow from scratch. And I think about humanity acting like the nothingness in this book.
I think about nature evolving like it always does. I think about our connection to the natural world and a needed shift of consciousness, culture and myth that Joseph Campell described so brilliantly…