Nathaniel Davis has loved the ocean and all things related to it since he was a boy.
Now that he reached the age where he can pursue a career in the marine industry, Davis has realised that the constant polluting of the ocean means his greatest love is being destroyed.
Although his field of study is in Marine Operations, 19-year-old Davis is also an artist and over the past six months, he has worked tirelessly to produce a series on the impact of pollution, global warming and irresponsible fishing on marine life.
His five pieces are now a part of the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA’s) Beyond the Blue exhibit that closes today at the Nalis Library in Port-of-Spain.
He told Guardian Media that the lack of care and respect shown for the environment by his fellow citizens saddens him.
He said through various programmes, including Sea Scouts, he developed an understanding of the relationship between humans and the ocean. His goal now is to educate those who may be ignorant of that relationship and its benefits to mankind.
“In recent times, being around our seas I have realised the lack of care that us as a people have for the sea. People don’t realise that when you throw your garbage at the side of the road it ends up on the beach and I realised that I can use my art to speak out and have my voice heard,” Davis said.
One of his pieces, titled Death Trap was especially evocative, showing a turtle with a noose around its neck. Another shows the progression of coral reefs from colourful and healthy to grey and dying due to global warming and climate change.
Davis said the shock factor was his main goal.
“My style started off very colourful and eventually I decided that it is not doing enough because a lot of people would just be sidetracked by the colours. The second one I did was with the turtle and I put the rope around the turtle’s neck showing the illegal harvesting of marine life and how we treat them, that one, in particular, has a huge shock factor,” he said.
Davis said he hopes that those who see his work and the exhibit can jolt the public into changing its behaviours.
He had this message for those who underestimate the impact of their actions on the environment: “Next time you do something stand up and think about the impact it has on the environment and what the environment is doing for you. I know that the ocean is just only one aspect of the environment that we are destroying currently, we take a lot and we fail to realise that without it, there would be no us.”