CNN
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When freediver Janeanne Gilchrist noticed an increase in the amount of debris washing up on the shores of her favorite diving spots, she decided to do something about it.
To raise awareness of the problem, she created a collection of breathtaking images, transforming waste into art.
Gilchrist, who dives without breathing equipment off the coast of Scotland, began taking photos of debris in the water over a year ago. Since then she has photographed plastic bags, discarded sous’westers (fishermen’s hats), and entangled fisherman’s rope, all captured in beautiful light.
Janeanne Gilchrist
Janeanne Gilchrist has created a series of ethereal images showing pollution in the sea. Pictured, plastic bags captured in Gilchrist's image "Empty."
Janeanne Gilchrist
Gilchrist describes herself as an artist and image maker. "Anthropomorphism" shows a fisherman's old sou'wester hat discarded in the ocean.
Janeanne Gilchrist
A tangled fishing net creates this image, called Structuralism.
Janeanne Gilchrist
Named Semantic Memory, this image captures fisherman's rope tangled beneath the ocean's surface.
Janeanne Gilchrist
"The irony of my work is that I'm using waste that shouldn't be there," says Gilchrist. "We all need to come together and figure out a solution. Because by the time this plastic and rubbish gets into the water, the damage is already done."
Janeanne Gilchrist
Besides debris, Gilchrist makes beautiful images of sea life. In this picture, a jellyfish is illuminated by the by the ocean light
Janeanne Gilchrist
The image "Multicellular" shows a colorful entanglement of seaweed.
“I didn’t want to just document a piece of plastic in the water. There is a lot of imagery like that available to people but it doesn’t necessarily make them sit up and take notice,” explains Gilchrist. “The images are made from man-made debris, which shouldn’t be there. It looks ethereal and majestic - but it makes people go wow, that’s amazing, what is it?”
The Edinburgh-based photographer has been taking photographs underwater for over 10 years. In that time she has seen a drastic change.
“Sadly, over this period of time I have seen an increase of debris in the water. This is a large problem and it’s not just off the coast of Scotland. This is a global problem,” says Gilchrist.
Plastic Oceans
The South Pacific island of Tuvalu should be a model of sustainability. But plastic pollution is having a devastating effect on the formerly pristine environment, and it may be responsible for the declining health of many islanders.
plastic oceans
British producer Jo Ruxton and her team spent four years documenting the effects of plastic pollution for the documentary "A Plastic Ocean." She hopes the film will challenge people and societies to stop thinking of the material as disposable.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
The crew visited dozens of sites from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and Hawaii, without ever finding a plastic-free location. The average square kilometer of ocean contains around 20,000 microplastic pieces.
NOAA
Endangered species such as sea turtles could be driven to extinction by the plastic plague.
NOEL CELIS/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Plastic pollution has rapidly accelerated, with eight million tons entering the marine environment each year,
according to scientists. This figure is set to rise as production of the material is set to double over the next 20 years.
China Photos/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
In many of the worst affected countries such as
China and the Philippines, local people lack the infrastructure to properly dispose of plastic waste. In some cases they burn it, releasing dangerous gases associated with cancer.
TED ALJIBE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
There are also concerns that people are consuming dangerous plastic through contaminated fish. A survey
published in Scientific Reports journal revealed that a quarter of market fish in Indonesia and California contain plastic.
NOAA
There are different ideas about how to address the crisis. The
U.S. National and Atmospheric Association favors beach cleaning and public education at local level, combined with challenging policymakers and plastic producers to promote conservation.
REINNIER KAZE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Recycling efforts are becoming more creative. Plastic waste is now converted into building materials
in Cameroon and the Philippines. Charging for plastic bags and bottles and bags has helped to reduce waste.
Photographer: Jurg Roessen
Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat has a more ambitious vision.
He has designed a huge trash-eating machine that he intends to deploy at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. He believes it can remove 99% of the debris within 30 years.
Capturing the images was no small feat. Gilchrist, who has been diving for over 15 years, had to retrain herself to photograph underwater. She says that the conditions around Scotland can be very challenging and the currents “are playing with me and the objects the entire time.”
But in the end, Gilchrist stresses, the process is well worth it.
“The images are a one off. I can’t reproduce this work. It’s caught at a moment of time and at a location that you just can’t recreate again,” she says.
Freediving is when divers swim without an air tank or snorkel, holding their breath underwater. Gilchrist prefers this method as it allows her to move more freely
“The work is not for the faint hearted. You’re in cold water, holding your breath and you have to make sure you get the image at the right time,” she explains.
Gilchrist’s main goal with her work is to “evoke emotions and spark imaginations” that inspire conversations about the worldwide problem of pollution and climate change.
“The irony of my work is that I’m using waste that shouldn’t be there,” says Gilchrist. “We all need to come together and figure out a solution. Because by the time this plastic and rubbish gets into the water, the damage is already done.”
An exhibition of Gilchrist’s work, titled “Above, Below, Beyond,” will be shown until March 24, 2018, at the JD Ferguson Gallery in Perth, Scotland.