Rights of the Deep
How can those of us living in urban, landlocked environments connect with the remote depths of our seas and oceans?
Sustainable energy technologies employ minerals such as manganese, nickel and copper which are used in electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. Reserves are found within the ocean floor, but deep-sea mining is not only a danger to marine life, it urgently threatens the livelihoods and culture of coastal communities and could even compromise the ocean’s ability to absorb heat and carbon, exacerbating climate change.
A contribution to the growing Rights of Nature movement, this project brings together indigenous Pacific activists, legal scholars and marine scientists to co-write an open letter about our relationship with the deep-ocean and the need to protect it. Excerpts from the letter are incorporated into a wall-based artwork which draws on diagrams of global ocean circulation. The open letter can be read as a printed copy in the gallery, and the full text is available to download.
Letter co-written by: Emma Critchley, Mekhala Dave, Pradeep Arjan Singh with Pacific-based experts: Solomon Pili Kahoʻohalahala, Edwin “Ekolu” Lindsey, Alanna Matamaru Smith, Frank Murphy, Quack Pirihi, Hinano Teavai-Murphy. Advisors: Dr Emily Barritt, Kristina Gjerde JD, Dr Maila Guilhon, Professor Kerry Howell, Professor Rachel Mills. Post Graduate Legal Researcher: Saifeddine Benamar
Read the Rights of the Deep open letter here.
BSL interpretation for this artwork is available via this link
Emma Critchley is a visual artist specialising in underwater photography and video. She uses a combination of film, photography, sound, installation, writing, spoken word and dance to continually explore our human relationship with the underwater environment, as a political, philosophical & environmental space. She has worked with Jerwood Foundation, British Council, the Singapore International Foundation, the British Academy and the European Regional Development Fund. Emma’s 'Soundings' artist research project collectively explores how film, sound and dance might be used to connect us with the deep ocean to help us experience the meaningful connection needed to inspire care for the deep sea and its ecosystems.