This installation art by Janet Laurence is called Deep Breathing – Resuscitation for the Reef. It reflects on marine life threatened by global warming. Presenting life being resuscitated in a science lab, it suggests the action required, and its urgency.
Created as part of the Artists 4 Paris Climate 2015 exhibition at the COP21 Climate Change Conference, this immersive work used specimens borrowed from the Australian Museum and other institutions, together with photos and video elements.
LIRRF is dedicated to raising funds for scientific research on the Great Barrier Reef. We need to show donors why this cause merits their support. Those who have the good fortune to visit the Australian Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station, speak with the scientists and dive on the reef need little further conviction. But for others, the rationale for why our science is vitally important is easily lost in the noise of a busy life. The art of Janet Lawrence is able to help here, engaging visually, unforgettably, at great emotional depth.
This short (1 minute) video captures the essence of that engagement
This longer (8 minute) video has the full interview at COP21
Janet gathered insights to inform her installation during a stay as 2015 Artist-In-Residence at the Lizard Island Research Station. Deep Breathing – Resuscitation for the Reef will exhibit at the Australian Museum in 2016.
