Aquatic Invaders is a series of illustrated posters designed to raise awareness about marine debris and the One Drop in the Ocean exhibition which was on view from March 7 - 15, 2018 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The series was a self-initiated daily design challenge, for the month of February 2018, done in response to the experience of collecting, washing, sorting and transforming local marine debris into art.
Aquatic Invader 1/28, The Clothespin:
This is an illustration is of a seemingly innocuous clothespin, one of the many pieces of plastic debris we collected last October/November during our beach clean ups. Many of these small pieces are mistaken for food and consumed by marine animals. Unable to be digested, the plastic pollution blocks the digestive system eventually causing to starvation.
Aquatic Invader 2/28, The Lost Buoys:
Lost Buoys floating in the open sea, picking up hitchhikers as they plunder our ecosystems. This one's name is "Wadih", did you lose him in 2017?
Spreading awareness about marine debris for February 2018.
Aquatic Invader 3/28, Single-use Straws:
Suzzy Straw's Night Out.
She had high hopes last night
Told herself "tonight will be the night that you will fall for me all over again". Ten minutes later, her dreams were crushed. He left her at the bar after one use. She watched, as he walked away with a new one.
All over again.
Straws are vengeful once scorned...what'll be Suzzy's fate now?
Cease and desist single-use plastic
say no to plastic straws this year.
Aquatic Invader 4/28, The Bobbins
Beware, the Bobbin Bandits are still at large!
A good bit of marine debris is often plastic waste carelessly discarded on our beaches. The Bobbin Bandits are just as destructive as their other plastic brethren. Their numbers increase every time you leave your fishing gear behind.
If you brought it with you, take it back with you. The fishies, thank you. 🐟
Aquatic Invader 5/28, The Octopus Trap:
Silent and deadly.
Once upon a not-so-distant time people molded the earth to craft the pots used to snare octopus. Now they're massed produced, made of plastic and trap more than just.
Thankfully this one was caught by Raven.
Plastic sucks, it's taken over the Earth. We need a handmade revival, as so many of our traditional crafts have become prey to these plastic invaders.
Aquatic Invader 6/28, Brooms and Fans:
A few strange bits of marine debris whose stories are shrouded in mystery. What scandal were they involved in? How did they come to be on Canash beach that day?
A large percent of the debris we collected at Canash Beach, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines was household refuse. Some items had us utterly confused. Did you know that approximately 80% of marine debris originates from land based sources?
Aquatic Invader 7/28, The Balloons:
Are those balloons? Icarus? Jellyfish, squid and octopus?
What if we didn't release them into the wild?
What if we stopped producing them all together?
What if we truly made them biodegradable or even digestible?
Do we actually "need" balloons?
When released into the wild, the balloon soars to extreme heights. So high, it is shredded by the pressure. Deflated, it descends with a single purpose - havoc. Some invade the land, others head out to sea. Form altered, they drift...tendrils hanging, heads bobbing along the surface.
Balloons blow they turn into marine debris and contribute to ocean pollution.
Aquatic Invader 8/28, Bottle Caps Sans Bottles:
The bottle cap colony has reached an all time high. Often brightly colored, they easily attract their prey. From sea birds to sea turtles, even the occasional whale, all are targets.
We collected 948 bottle caps in under three hours last October at Colonaire Bay, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, W.I.
Aquatic Invader 9/28, Ticking Glow Stick Time Bombs:
70+ of these Diki-Diki Light glow sticks washed ashore in Mustique last year.
They're extremely lethal. Their exterior plastic shell encases harmful chemicals, just so they can glow for our amusement. They cannot be recycled after their single use plastic life is up.
They'll be partying long after everything's dead.
Aquatic Invader 10/28, Styrofoam Floats:
These guys are icky!
Not only are they usually attached to deadly drifting ropes, they break apart into tiny fragments as small as a grain of sand. Easily ingested as fish food, but indigestible once in the body.They could be Lurking in your next fish lunch...
These floats are extremely difficult to eradicate once introduced into the wild. The same is true of all Styrofoam products
Aquatic Invader 11/28, Styrofoam Beads:
Warning: These are not fish eggs
They're tiny beads of expanded polystyrene foam aka Styrofoam.
Did you know that the U.S. EPA and IARC established styrene (foundation ingredient in polystyrene) as a possible human carcinogen?
Styrofoam is non-biodegradable, does not break down when exposed sunlight and is extremely lightweight. Virtually indestructible, large amounts accumulate along coastlines and waterways worldwide. Although it can be recycled, most companies no longer accept it.
Avoid at all costs!
Aquatic Invader 12/28, Ghostly Ghostnets:
Seemingly harmless nylon fishing nets become deadly sweepers
Ghost nets
Nearly invisible in dim light, drifting along the open seas Entangling anything and everything in their path
Toxic plastic waste, sea creatures
Even boats, divers and submarines.
Aquatic Invader 13/28, Single-use Cups:
The Dawn of the Cup Cup Crew
He thought their relationship would stand the test of time,
He knows he can endure, come rain or blazing sun
And yet, she left him
Crushed him mere hours before The Day of Love
Used, broken and discarded he lay there
Thinking
One day she'll never be able to escape me or my brethren
And so he waits, biding his time, increasing his ranks
Time is of no consequence
He will endure forever
Aquatic Invader 14/28, Flip flops:
Patter patter
Patter patter
Flip flop
Flip
Flop
Thud
Her heart cracked
She left her sole on the beach
Aquatic Invader 15/28, Single-use Utensils:
Single-use Sporks, Spoons, Forks, Knives are all members of the Vengeful Assassins Club. Though they began as an innocents seeking to assist and make the lives of others convenient, the harsh reality of truth blackened their hearts.
Now their sole purpose is vengeance. Who will be their next victim?
Aquatic Invader 16/28, Single-use Containers:
Trays, plates, bowls, clam shell take-out containers, ice cream cups, and many more
The most common finds are made of styrofoam. These chemical leachers are disguised as conveniently cheap options, eagerly waiting to diminish your health.
Aquatic Invader 17/28, Bad Boy Lighters:
Wreak havoc, don't leave them behind
They continue slaying, the 🐟 ladies and 🐟 gents too, with their swagger long after you've moved on to the next one.
What ever happened to those old school lighters? The ones that had character, a hefty weight and that personalized touch? Those lighters from the movies where the ladies n' gents didn't have 'IT', unless they could flipped the lid and light it up in one fluid movement?
Aquatic Invader 18/28, The Rake:
Provocative Reveller
He sauntered into the fete
Boldly wearing that color
The one that screams scandal
All eyes were upon him Colored by lust and envy
They wondered who will be The Chosen One tonight
He took his time
Allowing them to behold him
Smirking
Reveling in his knowledge
Thinking
"Simpletons. Feast your eyes, for I am your demise"
Aquatic Invader 19/28, Toothbrushes:
Invading our seas
Made of plastic from bristle to handle
The Toothbrush
Has yours gone missing?
I wonder how far these have drifted? Whose teeth they brushed? Somebody famous?
Do we ingest small bits of plastic every time we brush our teeth?
Did you know that bamboo toothbrushes are an eco friendly alternative?
Aquatic Invader 20/28, The Plastic Bag:
What if we lived in a world where all the mass produced, often harmful, products of convenience were extinct?
If plastic straws no longer existed?
Styrofoam products were a myth?
The retched plastic bag was a fable used to scare the little ones at night?
What if we could make that world a reality tomorrow? Would you choose to do so?
Aquatic Invader 21/28, Syringes:
Every piece of trash that has ever washed ashore tells a story
about distant lands
about sea creatures
about an arduous journey
about the lives of the people who've made/used it, whether good or bad
The fact that we have and continue to find trash on our strewn about our roadways, beaches and oceans is evidence of our bad habits and indifference.
The fact that among that trash is often hazardous material like syringes (used and unused) sheds light upon a problem we often keep in the dark, pretending it doesn't exist in our communities, naively hoping that it'll disappear on its own.
These syringes may have been life saving medical tools. They may also be life taking drug tools. We will never know their tales until we bring everything into the light and start asking questions.
Aquatic Invader 22/28, Lollipop Sticks:
There was once a time when all I worried about whenever I thought about lollipops was whether I'd be able to save a dollar by Friday to buy the really huge one from Freeda that turned your whole mouth blue and would last me all afternoon and probably all of Saturday too.
I was given a lollipop on Valentines Day and noticed immediately that one, the stick was plastic, and two, most lollipops are only made with those plastic sticks that have the whistle on the end to make you think they're harmless.
I can't remember the last time I saw a paper lollipop stick...
The second thought was "I definitely have to save this so I can add it to the other 46 lollipop sticks I got for the One Drop In The Ocean project.“
Aquatic Invader 23/28, Bottles sans Bottle Caps:
Flattened by life's cruel humor
The air sucked out of them
Cast away
Fated to bear the weight of scavengers
Clinging to their backs
Creeping inside
Latching on to every inch for a free ride
As they continue to roam the seas
Searching for their caps
Some never reunite
Sinking to the desolate bottom
Forever capless
If you're unsure of where you can start why not switch to carrying your own glass bottle of water that you can refill? Everyday we use and discard of at least one new plastic bottle after we've drained its contents. You save money and the ocean by carrying your own bottle as one less bottle escapes into the wild.
Aquatic Invader 24/28, Toy Trumpets and Combs:
Every time I find personal items, I always wonder what happened to their owners. What were the circumstances that led to this trumpet and these combs to be forgotten? Where did the child go? She was playing with her trumpet while having her hair combed and then...
These are the untold stories of marine debris.
Aquatic Invader 25/28, Tool Boxes:
Instruments of destruction
I wonder what's Stanley's story?
Where'd his back go?
What happened to his tools?
How long was he stuck in the mud at Canash Beach?
Is his owner still there?
Don't be a tool box. There's enough of those out there made from plastic. We don't need to add ones made from humans to the count.
Aquatic Invader 26/28, Clothes and Shoes:
The people are out there missing their clothes and shoes
What happened?
Where were they going in these fine duds?
Did they get there?
Clothes without people
We often see such items left at the beach,
riding the waves.
We rarely realize that the vast majority of the clothing and shoes we buy are plastic - often made of polyester, nylon, spandex and rayon. They contribute to the growing number of #microplastics drifting in the open seas, as fibers and threads.
Aquatic Invader 27/28, Food Packaging:
Questions I’ve asked the Aquatic Invaders:
Have you ever noticed that here on our little rock, St Vincent and the Grenadines, pretty much everything in the supermarket comes packaged in plastic? And I mean everything, it’s like glass doesn’t exist anymore.
Why aren’t we given the option of to buy a glass or paper packaging alternative?
Why are we steadily importing so much plastic when there isn’t an functional/effective recycling program?
Why hasn’t anyone decided to go into the recycling business? Dem nah know nuff money dey ya fi mek?
Aquatic Invader 28/28, Homicidal Ropes:
Drifting
Arms spread far and wide
Beckoning you to embrace
Movements fluid
Mesmerizing
Harmless?
The trap is set
Limbs entwined, blissfully unaware
You’re ensnared
Forever fated to drift across the seas
From sole to soul weathered and decayed
