talking about mainstream: with over 20,000 visitors per day ocean park hong kong is one of the 7 most popular theme parks worldwide. the park states to provide 'unique experiences that combine entertainment with education and conservation'. as a visitor i always felt that this credo disappears under the mass of entertainment and amusement attractions and the commercialization of animals and nature. for the first time now, not being a visitor but a contributor to these experiences, i'm getting a different angle to this picture. working within the educational department i can see their efforts of bringing awareness, knowledge and conservation approaches into the park. talking about oceans these days is not only amusement! displaying an installation like lost'n'found shows their willingness to confront visitors with the threatening human impacts on the oceans. it is a couragious step away from a generalized, partial and romantisized perception of the complex marine eco-system!
lost'n'found is part of ocean park's 'blue matters' campaign addressing the problem of marine pollution, over-fishing and marine biodiversity in hong kong. to all of these problems solutions are on hand: ocean park is now only serving sustainable seafood at its restaurants, the ocean park conservation foundation (www.opcf.org.hk) is monitoring species in hongkong waters and trained staff is raising awareness of the negative impacts of plastic packaging. the volume of plastic packaging at the park is reduced by replacing single-use plastic packaging with bio-degradable packaging at all stalls (coming into effect this year) and promoting water fountains to refill your water bottle. this 3-year campaign is a step in the right direction, with a huge impact on over 20,000 hongkongers and mainland chinese each day. from this angle mainstream also means a great chance!
this is the text on the panel:
"It took one single day, one single beach and one group of motivated people to collect all the rubbish you see in this hawker-stall. It was collected on a beach in South Country Park on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Every single piece you see here has been in the ocean, sometimes for years, before it got washed ashore. The colours are neither altered manually nor digitally.
Plastic lasts forever! Day by day, year by year, decade by decade plastic is accumulating in the oceans. All sea creatures, from tiny plankton to gigantic whales, are suffering the consequences. They get trapped, strangeled, poisoned and suffer fatal injuries internally as well as externally. These creatures pay for our convenience. Please be aware that plastic lasts forever when you buy your next plastic bottle.
You are responsible for the choices you make!
You can make a difference right now by refilling your water-bottle at one of our drinking-water-fountains! Please refer to the guide-map for locations.
Renowned German-born Hong Kong artist liina klauss adopts her signature style of using local beach rubbish and found natural materials to create environmental installations. Gathering a community of volunteers she creates temporary installation on beaches worldwide. Her installations raise awareness for the beauty of nature, for the impact we humans have on it and for the human potential to turn something ugly into something beautiful.
Through her art liina redefines the value we give waste on an aesthetic as well as on an intrinsic level."
