As government leaders, scientists and civil organizations gather in Nice, southern France, for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) from June 9 to 13, artists across the Atlantic are equally raising the alarm about the calamitous situation facing the world’s seas.
HOMO
SARGASSUM is a
contemporary art exhibition taking place at UN headquarters in New York to
raise awareness about ocean pollution and other ills, through “the lens of the
sargassum seaweed”. The show runs throughout World Ocean Month (June), until
July 11, and admission is free upon online registration.
Selk, a former
diplomat who now directs the US-based non-profit TOUT-MONDE Art FOUNDATION
(TMAF), told SWAN in a telephone interview that the exhibition aims to
highlight the voices and work of contemporary Caribbean artists in a
wide-reaching way, alongside the subject of the show.
She said that presenting
the exhibition at the UN rather than in a museum is “not merely symbolic”, as
the aim is to use art to “speak up on certain issues”, in addition to words and
diplomacy.
“Museum audiences
are great, but that is still a niche,” she added. “By showing the exhibition
here at the UN, we’re totally targeting a different public, including
international tourists that come to visit the headquarters. The artworks are right
at the entrance, and it’s fabulous to see how everyone stops and engages with
the show and the information.”
Through their
work, the artists express concern and invite viewers to “reflect on what can be
done individually and collectively to change our relation to the Ocean”, the
exhibition states.
The public also
learns about the history of the sargassum seaweed scourge, through scientific
information showing how the “proliferation of the algae across the Atlantic and
on Caribbean coasts since 2011 has wide-ranging environmental, economic, social
and health-related impacts for coastal communities and ecosystems.”
Li Junhua, the
UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and
Secretary-General of the gathering, told UN News: “The ocean is facing
an unprecedented crisis due to climate change, plastic pollution, ecosystem
loss, and the overuse of marine resources.”
The UN is
hoping for decisive international action that will help to stem further
deterioration, and representatives of small island developing states (SIDS) attending
the conference are adding their voices to this call.
Jamaica’s
Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, for instance, is highlighting the need
for “innovative approaches to financing… that considers the special circumstances
of SIDS” and these nations’ vulnerability.
Against the
backdrop of the Nice conference, the HOMO SARGASSUM exhibition has
included artist talks and curatorial tours to “engage with the public”, as Selk
told SWAN.
But the
striking works on their own are perhaps enough to spark reflection; included
are a large-scale installation by Alejandro Duran, made of “recycled plastic
found on Mexican coasts” over the years, as well as a dress by eco-designer duo
Felder Felder using “alternative leather” made of Sargassum seaweed.
The overall HOMO
SARGASSUM project, which was initiated five years ago, includes a short
film launched in 2020; an artist residency curated by Matilde dos Santos in
Martinique in 2021 (including virtual exchanges because of the Covid-19
pandemic); a comic book edited by Jessica Oublié, Marion Lecardonnel &
Ulises Jauregu, published by Collection Alliance Française in 2022; and an
experimental documentary film, according to the organizers.
The exhibition
is “endorsed” by the Permanent Missions of France and Barbados to the United
Nations, and supported by the Winthrop-King Institute for French and
Francophone Studies. – SWAN
Photos courtesy of TMAF.
Further
information: https://www.tout-monde-foundation.org/
Further
reading: https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164026
