A Whale Interlude

So much of what I do is focused on the small things, it was an unexpected joy for me to have had the opportunity to work with something that is far from small: the ribs of a sperm whale. I say joy because I was very excited about this opportunity but so often joy has a shadow side and I was mindful and respectful of the fact that I was working with parts of what had once been a living, breathing creature--one who had met a tragic end on the shoreline. 

I was at the Bonne Bay Marine Station in Norris Point. It is an hour's drive from my residence. It is connected with Memorial University (Grenfell Campus). I had met with the director, Bob, earlier in the week and he invited me to come, explore, and work on my art there. He is a strong supporter of the arts and was very generous about allowing me access to the facilities. He showed me a set of ribs that had been from a sperm whale that had washed up on a nearby shore. They were not on display and I was invited to work with them.

Before I began my work, I sat with the bones and contemplated the life that had been. I thought about how these massive ribs had grown and how they protected this creature's heart and lungs. I thought about the journeys they made in deep waters and tried to imagine life from a whale's perspective. This quiet, contemplative approach to working with living or formerly living beings is a way of connecting and remembering that we are part of a web that includes us all. 

Here is an explanation of what was done to prepare the bones for research and viewing:

The first thing I did was use my little portable microscope to look at the bones:

"Spongy bone" at the ends of the ribs

I had brought a large piece of canvas with me. I traced around three of the ribs so that I would have the scale of them right. This could be the basis of a painting.

Speaking of scale, this photo is distorted because it is a selfie, but nevertheless, you can see the relative size of one of these ribs. By the way, holding the rib like this created what felt like a powerful connection with the creature.

The day passed by quickly and I gathered a lot of material (photographic, both lumens and regular photographs). 

Making lumens from a sperm whale rib

Here are some photos of the marine station:

A Documentary about a whale that was beached at Trout River

In April of 2014, nine blue whales were trapped in the ice at Bonne Bay. This was tragic for the species, whose numbers worldwide at that time were very small--only around 200. CBC Gem has a documentary about this occurrence, if you are eligible to see it. You can access it here.