LUCY STACKPOOL

2 - 11 December 2022 @ CCAS MANUKA

Climate Coral is an exhibition of paintings and small sculptures that considers delicate pacific marine life in the twenty-first century. Whether brightly-coloured, tinted hues, fluorescent or as dark as the ocean is deep – coral is a wonder of organic living form. Chillingly, our anthropogenic activities threaten these exquisitely beautiful structures. 

Plastic pollution, including micro-beads, forms toxic debris that settles on ocean floors and is consumed by sea life, including coral. Ingested micro-plastics and nano-plastics block coral digestive tracks, which restricts natural food intake, delays growth and causes oxidative damage and necrosis of coralline organisms.

Algae and coral work together in a symbiotic relationship, exchanging growth compounds and providing mutual protection to one another. Warming oceans cause coral to expel algae, turning coral tissue white. Recent and unprecedented mass bleaching events have devastated reefs, and placed these ecosystems of enormous biodiversity in grave danger.

Image: Lucy Stackpool, Acidification, 2022, 16cm x 16cm x 10cm, plaster, plastic tubing, paint and soft wax. Photo courtesy of the Artist.