PangeaSeed Foundation is pleased to announce the latest print release in their 2020 print project, "In Peril: A Visual Story of Our Ocean's Greatest Challenges". Featuring original artwork by supporting ARTivist Nikki Scioscia (USA), this limited art print edition highlights the negative impacts plastics are having on oceans, marine life, and ourselves. An estimated 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans every year and there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste estimated to be in our oceans.
Artist: Nikki Scioscia (USA)
Title: Issues Facing The Ocean: Plastic Pollution
Dimensions: 16x20 inches with a one-inch white border
Details: fine art giclee on Canson Aquarelle 310gsm archival paper
Edition of 50 plus 5 artist proofs
Pricing: $75 USD
Artist Statement
In collaboration with PangeaSeed Foundation, Issues Facing the Ocean is my first full-color fine art print series. I illustrated threats to oceanic ecosystems- plastic pollution, overfishing, and warming waters- through portraits of contemporary female marine biologists and/or advocates. By representing these women in connection with the environments they love, I intend to portray the spirit of the ocean as challenged, yet resilient- and ultimately as the source of all life. - Nikki Scioscia, Illustrator
The first print in this series, Plastic Pollution, features marine biologist Elena Mpougas. Brought up on the beaches of South Carolina and on the isles of Greece as a first-generation Greek-American, Elena cultivated a deep passion to protect the ocean at a young age. Two marine issues that disturbed but inspired Elena was plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and the dire state of the endangered Mediterranean monk seal. As an undergraduate student at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, Elena conducted some of the first local microplastic experiments on fauna and sediment to determine how plastic pollution was impacting the ecosystem as a whole. From sand to shrimp to zooplankton, her experiments revealed that microplastics and/or microfibers were present. In 2018, her research aided the City of Charleston and the City of James Island in banning single-use plastics.
Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) are one of the most endangered animals in the world. With a population of 700 individuals, Mediterranean monk seals mostly inhabit the seas of Greece. As a graduate student at Bangor University in Wales, Elena collaborated with MOm and the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal to carry out a behavioral study on the impacts of boat traffic and tourism on a group of resident seals in Greece. Her study was published in the journal Aquatic Mammals in 2019 with the conclusion that boat traffic and human presence did disturb the natural behavior of the monk seals, with environmental policy suggestions to further protect the Mediterranean monk seals. Despite Elena’s contributions to policy change through her research, environmental regeneration happens when we all come together. Educating our communities, donating funds, attending town council meetings, and voting for the environment are all ways that we can protect the oceanic ecosystems we love.
Release date: Thursday, August 20 at 12pm PDT via https://shop.pangeaseed.org/
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