American Manifest Destiny

Gblog discovers an older project of Chris Jordan's

Filming the triumphs and tragedies of Midway Island's albatrosses

From the Washington Post.

Plastic-Filled Albatrosses Are Pollution Canaries in New Doc

From Wired.com

The Fatal Shore, Awash in Plastic

From the International Herald Tribune

Stats into Art

Chris Jordan's TED Talk is on the Best TED Talk List.

Fly or die

An interview at Surfrider.org

Interview in Outside Online

Chris Jordan was recently interviewed by Outside Online about the Midway Journey, the upcoming film Midway, and the current Kickstarter project.

The birds on Midway are like messengers, the canary in the coal mine. When the canary dies, the miners don’t run over and try to save the canary— they receive the message that bird just gave its life delivering, and then act quickly to save themselves. That approach resonates with me because it doesn’t view the birds as helpless victims that we passively observe; it places a duty on us to receive their message, and be changed by it (or not).

Read the full interview here.

Still Running the Numbers: Chris Jordan’s Continuing Effort to Illustrate the Sustainability Crisis

Chris Jordan continues to make bold art with deep sustainability themes, including a new look at plastic pollution of the oceans with Gyre II.

Read the full article at Transforming Cultures.

At Midway Atoll, the Laysan albatross soars into spotlight

Having been fortunate enough to have visited to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, I can attest that there are few avian critters as goofy-looking (on land), graceful (in flight) and lovable as the Laysan albatross. The accompanying video clip, posted Monday by Midway Journey, reveals a glimpse of what's to come in a high-definition film titled "Midway," directed by Chris Jordan. It shows weary albatross parents waddling shoreward to embark on their first forays to find food after weeks on the nest.



Read more at Pete Thomas Outdoors.

LifeLaughLove

An exhibition review at LiveLaughLove.

Journey to Midway

Midway Atoll, one of the most remote islands on earth, is a kaleidoscope of geography, culture, human history, and natural wonder. It also serves as a lens into one of the most profound and symbolic environmental tragedies of our time: the deaths by starvation of thousands of albatrosses who mistake floating plastic trash for food.

The images are iconic. The horror, absolute. Our goal, however, is to look beyond the grief and the tragedy. It is here, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that we have the opportunity to see our world in context. On Midway, we can not deny the impact we have on the planet. Yet at the same time, we are struck by beauty of the land and the soundscape of wildlife around us, and it is here that we can see the miracle that is life on this earth. So it is with the knowledge of our impact here that we must find a way forward.

For more information on the project, visit Midway Journey.