Freathy Beach, January 2016

To begin my new project, I chose to visit Freathy due to its reputation of being a highly littered part of the coast. Marine litter plays an enormous part in the destruction of the marine ecology. This international problem stems from humans inadequate refuse management, with the largest problem being the public’s inability to recognise the consequences of their action. As I walked along the higher ground, I looked down onto Freathy beach to see complete natural beauty. The wave dancing around the rock faces, trying to pull the land away as it retreated back to sea; the water shimming in the sun. In the glare of the sun, I could only see the forms of the rocks dominating my view.

As I made my down to the beach, it became clear my initial vision was distorted. Plastic, food wrappers and fishing nets. Everywhere I looked I could see bright coloured rubbish carpeting the beach.

What I discovered next bothered me more. I came across a dead dolphin, its eyes gouged out, and the flesh around its tail rotting away. As I looked closer I could see tiny coloured pieced of plastic entangled inside the animal. I am not saying this caused its death, however, the ingestion of microplastics is responsible for the death of a huge number of marine animals as it does not degrade, simply break down into smaller pieces that can then me mistaken for food.

The Great pacific Garbage patch is a clear example of where humanity has failed out earth. Made up of microplastics, the three patches have been estimated to be twice the size of Texas! http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

From here, i managed to collect a large amout of litter to create my first site-specific eco-collagraph.