Saturday 16 April 2011

The Ocean Flotilla Environmental Art Project

Welcome to the Ocean Flotilla project created by Haruko Okano.
This environmental project has two parts to it.  The global to the local part is called Ocean Flotilla and asks people around the world to contribute messages of hope for a better world in the next 100 years. The onsite installation has elements of time lapse, dissolution and growth.
To hear the artist speak about the project, listen to her being interviewed on CBC Radio by clicking here.

Ocean Flotilla Description:  

Ocean Flotilla is the public participation component of a larger environmental project that was displayed on Granville Island September 8 – 18, 2011. 

Ocean Flotilla consists of approximately 1000 paper boats that will carry the messages contributed from here and around the globe in response to the question “What are your hopes for a healthier world in the next 100 years?”

The paper boats are made of post consumer, 100% chemical free,  kraft paper, folded, glued and waterproofed with an organic medium called Kakishibu.  Kakishibu is the fermented juice extracted from bitter, green persimmons. Each boat will have inside, a number and the blog address.  People finding a boat can record the date, location where it was found and the boat's number in the Flotilla Log Book.  Those who made the boats can then track their boat's journey there.


Affirmative Messages from and for the world:

Experiments have shown that when positive thinking is done in unison with hundreds of participants in different locations concentrating on one vision that it can improve a situation needing positive change. This was done for a short, sustained period of time for a specific problem. Therefore, I invite you to begin changing the destiny of the planet and all its inhabitants for the better by taking the time to compose an affirmation.  Hold this thought in your mind, knowing that there are others doing exactly the same thing.

The opportunity to contribute affirmations has passed but during the time of the launch you can help by focusing on this: May the weather and elements of earth, air and water combine to make the launch and journey of this Ocean Flotilla, successful and may whoever finds any of the messages or boats be inspired to think a positive vision to change the world for the better in the next 100 years.

Number of Messages Received so far: _610___Messages have been received in English, Latin American Spanish, Hebrew, Quebecois French, Parisienne French, Mandarin, Japanese, Icelandic, and Croatian from German from Japan, Canada, Mexico, England and USA


Please see the Flickr site for images of workshops and documentation of the launch: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/haruko-okano/




The outdoor onsite installation:

The onsite installation  mounted on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC consists of a hull shape made of natural detritus and selectively harvested materials.  This was on display from September 8-18, 2011.

Suspended inside the hull is a used wooden bowl holding fish carved from salt.  Rain water will dissolve them, becoming salt water  in reference to the ocean.  Below this lies a human figure made of recycled coconut and wood fibre.  Mounted at its heart  area is a wishbone below which is a seed bomb containing earth and seeds of wheatgrass and other grains that will sprout during the time of the exhibition. On the ground in front of the installation, is this sentence: "History ebbs from here flows the future"  written on a line of flat river rocks.  On sunny days the hull's shadow will move across this text; similar to the mechanics of a sun dial, only this one symbolically highlights the past, present and future.

This project is part of a larger project of 10 ephemeral installations by the Art Is Land Network.

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